Shards of Time
by TwilightWakerofTime
Summary: Zelda is just about to send Link back to regain his childhood... but then they have a slight disagreement. In their argument, they accidentally break the Ocarina of Time! What happens when the Goddesses become involved?
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: Here we go! My sister convinced me to post this. This is my first multi-chaptered story for the Zelda fandom. It might be a little weird, I know. As you can probably tell, it starts off serious - it WAS going to be serious at first - but things got out of hand later on. Zelda is acting a little... crazy in this chapter, I know, haha. She won't be that way for the rest of the story. Let's just say... she has, like, a split personality, okay?_

_I hope the parts with the goddesses aren't confusing. Especially that Din insert at the end of the chapter..._

_EDIT: Okay, the goddess parts DIDN'T work out too well with the italics, as I can now see. I guess I'll bold them too. Hope that helps._

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><p><strong><span>Shards of Time<span>**

by TwilightWakerofTime

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><p><strong><span>Chapter 1<span>**

A sudden hush fell over the area. Compared to the chaotic sounds of battle he'd become accustomed to recently, it was deafening, almost suffocating. But at the same time… he felt a strange, peaceful twinge in his heart.

The Hero of Time opened his eyes and gasped quietly. He didn't appear to be standing on anything except for clouds, yet the ground felt solid, and he didn't fear falling. He turned around, expecting to find more blue sky and billowing clouds, or perhaps his fairy Navi, but instead he was met with crystal clear blue eyes. They belonged to a radiant young woman in an elaborate dress.

Her name leapt to his lips: "Zelda." Then he cleared his throat. "I mean, Princess."

The woman smiled. "It's fine, Link. Or should I call you Hero?" Though the smile remained plastered on her face, it seemed to turn a little sad. "After all, you've finally done it. The King of Evil is gone, banished from our world."

"_We_ did it," Link corrected, stepping toward her. "How would I have found the all the temples without Sheik's help?"

Zelda nodded, but she seemed a little distracted. "I guess you're right…"

Link studied the princess's face. Even if he'd only known her for a short while, he could tell that something was troubling her; he might as well have known her all his life. "Princess? What's wrong?"

She shook her head, and Link thought she'd brush off the question. To his surprise, she answered, "This whole ordeal is my fault."

He blinked. "What? No, it isn't."

"Yes." She looked into his eyes. "The blame is all mine. If I hadn't been so foolish as a young girl, none of this would have happened. I thought I was strong enough to prevent things from going wrong, that I could control the Sacred Realm. But, no. Ganondorf got the Triforce… and darkness spread across Hyrule. All because of me." Zelda turned and gazed out into the distance, seeing past the serene sky and picturing instead the destruction of her kingdom.

"That's not because of you." Even to Link the statement sounded uncertain. He tried again. "Ganondorf would not have given up. If you hadn't stepped in, he may have gotten the Spiritual Stones and the Ocarina on his own, or figured out a different way into the Sacred Realm. Then I wouldn't have the Master Sword…"

"But my mistake also cost you seven years of your life," Zelda gloomily answered. "If only there was a way I could go back in time to fix it…" She stopped and blinked. "Time. The Ocarina of Time!" She looked back up. "Link. Give me the Ocarina."

"What? Why–"

"I can use it to send you back. To send us all back!" She grabbed his hand, eyes shining with excitement. "Do you have it?"

"Of course. But–"

She narrowed her eyes. "Give it to me!" she snarled.

Shocked by the sudden change in behavior, Link stammered, "O-okay." Reluctantly, he reached into his enchanted pouch that held many items without expanding and withdrew the instrument. He handed it to the princess, a bit unnerved by the fervent look on her face. She took it with a nod, bringing it toward her mouth. Then, seeming to think of something, she lowered it.

"Um, I'm not exactly sure how this will work out," she admitted. "I don't know if we'll lose our memory, or be destroyed and painfully brought to our deaths, or spontaneously explode, or suddenly be whisked into a dark alternate dimension where we are doomed to forever spend our lives while no one knows what happened to us. But," she continued, ignoring Link's increasingly alarmed expression, "I'm sure we'll be fine as long as we're together. I just wanted to say something, in case, you know, one of us is destroyed. I love…"

Link's eyes widened

"…furry animals." Zelda grinned and clasped her hands together. "I just love snuggling with them. Don't you? They're soooo cute!" Link didn't know whether or not to be disappointed or relieved. Zelda noticed. "Oh. Were you expecting something else?"

He sighed and shook his head. "Um, no. Just play the song and we can get out of this place." He squinted, looking around. "Wait. Where exactly are we again…?"

Ignoring the question, Zelda took the ocarina and began to play.

Zelda's Lullaby, the magic song known only by the Royal Family, rang through the expanse of sky. The beautiful, slow tune calmed them both, bringing a relieving feeling of peace over the pair–

Until a loud, grating note sounded and the music stopped.

Link stared at Zelda, who was looking at the ocarina with contempt. "Foolish instrument," Zelda muttered. "If you will not obey me, I will have you sentenced to a life in prison! I will make your life so miserable, you'll wish you were dead!"

Biting his lip at the princess's odd behavior, Link said, "Uh, Zelda, it's an instrument. I don't think it has a conscience…"

Growling, Zelda tried to play again, but another improper note ruined the effect of the song.

"Princess." Link tried again to speak as Zelda angrily tried fixing the note, unable to find the right one. "I can help you."

"No!" she shouted.

"Look, your fingering is a little wrong," he said gently. "If you just–"

"I will do it myself."

He winced at another cacophony of poor notes. "Just let me do it."

Her head snapped up to glare at him. "What?" she nearly shrieked. "Is this another, 'Oh, the princess is in trouble, I must help her' moment of yours? Do you think you're better than me just because you saved the land of Hyrule and all of its inhabitants from the King of Evil by slaying him in battle and then becoming the long-awaited, legendary Hero of Time? Well, you're not! I can take care of myself."

"I didn't mean–"

"Right. Of course you didn't."

Link felt his anger rising. "Just hand over the ocarina! I played that song hundreds of times since my journey began. I won't make mistakes, unlike _some_ people."

"I grew up with this song played for me every night."

"Oh, sorry if not everyone could live like royalty."

"Shut up! You're distracting me!"

"You're acting stupid."

Zelda gasped. "You dare call a princess such a vulgar term? You will pay for that!"

Link gave her an odd look. "Wait, stupid? That's not–"

"You said it. Again!"

"Look, I don't know what you have against the word stu–"

"Don't. Say it."

Link's eyes narrowed. "Make me."

"As the Princess of Hyrule, I command you to–"

"That won't work, Zelda."

"That's Princess Zelda to you."

"Fine."

"Fine!"

Zelda and Link continued glowering at each other until finally Link broke the silence. "Oh, and you should still give me the ocarina."

"Never!"

**_Meanwhile, as the Princess of Destiny and the Hero of Time argued, two divine figures watched from the heavens. One, with long, flowing, silvery-blue hair and a beautiful floor-length white dress began to speak. "I cannot say I'm surprised that your Hero became entangled in a controversy as ridiculous and trivial as this, but I am appalled by the actions of Princess Zelda. He is a negative influence on her."_**

**_The other, a girl dressed in a brown tunic with forest-green leggings matching her hair, looked at her companion with a mixture of child-like amusement and slight irritation. "But, Nayru," she said, eyes shining, "She started it."_**

**_Nayru rolled her eyes at the childish reply of her sister, turning her attention back to the pair._**

"You're just a young boy from the forest trapped in a Hero's body," Zelda snapped.

"And you're a spoiled princess that never actually grew up, even after seven years," Link calmly retorted. "Oh, and you have absolutely no musical talent."

**"_Hehehe! That's true, Nayru!" Farore giggled in the heavens. "You're so good at music. Why didn't you give Zelda such abilities when you blessed her with the Triforce?"_**

**_The Goddess of Wisdom sighed. "Princess Zelda does indeed possess enhanced musical talent – or at least the wisdom to hone her skills in such an area. However, not even the Princess of Destiny can flawlessly play an ocarina after seven years of not practicing."_**

**_Farore frowned. "Link did it."_**

**"_His situation is a bit unique, dear sister. He was asleep for all those years. To him, only a few months have passed since he left the forest, and even fewer since he pulled the Master Sword and was sent forward in time. One does not forget skills in such short amount of time."_**

**"_What are you two doing?"_**

**_The two goddesses, showing no hint of surprise, did not need to turn to know it was their sister, Din. She wore a short dress the same crimson shade of blood. Her bright, fiery red hair trailed behind her, falling down her back in a long ponytail._**

**_Before Nayru could say anything, Farore blurted out, "Link and Zelda are fighting!"_**

**_Din's eyes glinted with a sort of malicious glee. "Let me see," she said, pushing her sisters aside to look down._**

"Face it, Zelda, you're not perfect," Link said. "And… your outfit is hideous."

Her eyes flashed dangerously. "No one insults my clothing and gets away with it. No one." She sniffed, scrutinizing him. "Besides, this is coming from the guy in a dress."

**_Din burst into laughter. "Oh, this is priceless! I've always wanted to see those two argue… this is the best entertainment I've had for the past century…!"_**

**"_They're just like children," Nayru commented thoughtfully. "So frivolous. Remind me why we chose these two again, Farore?"_**

**"_Because Zelda was smart," the green-haired goddess said as though it were obvious. "And Link was brave."_**

**"_Right…"_**

"And it's not like you're useful for anything," Zelda continued. "You're supposed to have the power of the gods, aren't you? Isn't that kind of the point of the Triforce? But, no. Wisdom and Power give incredible magical abilities, but Courage? Hah! It's the most worthless piece! Farore obviously wasn't thinking straight when she made it."

**_Farore, watching from the heavens, abruptly stood up with supernatural speed, her hands balled into fists. "What did she just say?" she screeched, danger lacing her voice. "Why that little–"_**

"It's not like Nayru is much better," Link growled. "The Triforce of Wisdom seems pretty useless, considering it couldn't even help you escape once Ganondorf captured you. If you're oh-so-smart, why'd I have to come in and help you?"

**_Nayru narrowed her eyes, slowly rising to her feet and taking her place beside Farore with a look of indignation and barely constrained anger. "That insolent fool! I'd have half a mind to blast him to ashes right on the spot! He simply cannot understand how precious Wisdom truly is, and how long it takes to master using it."_**

**_Din, of course, shook from uncontrollable laughter._**

"And what exactly can your Triforce do?" Zelda smirked. "I was the one who poured all my energy into opening passageways while fleeing Ganondorf's castle."

"In case you don't remember, you were also encircled in a fiery prison and Stalfos jumped out. I fought them off while you did absolutely nothing. Oh, and just five minutes ago, I slew the King of Evil."

"With my help."

"Right. Because standing helplessly on the sidelines and screaming when I was hurt really helped. Like I said: the Triforce of Wisdom is worthless."

"But Courage does _nothing_."

**_Nayru looked at Farore. "Did you hear that? The nerve of that Hero! Make him stop. He's your responsibility."_**

**_Farore was too busy mumbling under her breath. "Maybe if I left her alone in a room with cuccos… yes, the cucco torture never fails…" She blinked and looked up at her fellow goddess. "I'm sorry. Did you say something?"_**

**"_You know what I think?" the Goddess of Power said, stepping forward with a grin still on her face. "You should punish the Hero and get your revenge."_**

**"_Revenge is too petty for me, Din," Nayru huffed. "However… he does need a lesson in respect."_**

**"_And what about me? What about the princess that dared insult my clearly superior power?" Farore demanded._**

**_Din gave them a humorless smile. "Of course. In fact… you could work together. Oh, wouldn't that be a marvelous idea?"_**

**_Nayru and Farore exchanged looks._**

**"_I still hate your princess," Farore huffed._**

**"_And I dislike that Hero," Nayru stated._**

**"_But…?" A grin was forming of the Goddess of Courage's lips._**

**"_But," Nayru said, sighing, "I suppose we could work together to show these mortals their place. Blessed they may be, but no one insults us. I'm sure we can both acquiesce to a little interfering in mortals' lives… can't we?"_**

**"_I'm not entirely sure what 'acquiesce' means," Farore said, "but if it includes payback, I'm so in."_**

**_Din could hardly contain her excitement. It was working! Her hastily thought-out plan was working…!_**

**"_Now. What would be a suitable punishment for them?"_**

**"_If I might make a suggestion," Din cut in, "you should remove that which is most precious to them at the moment. Make them suffer."_**

**"_And what exactly would that be?"_**

**"_Peace." The goddess smirked. "That's what they're fighting over in the first place, right?"_**

**"_I thought they were fighting over an ocarina," Farore grumbled._**

**"_No! The ocarina is their path back in time to a peaceful era. See? If you get rid of that…"_**

**"_Oh! I get it! That's very smart, Din. I think Nayru is finally rubbing off on you after all these centuries." Farore smiled._**

**"_I don't think it's enough," Nayru said. "They need to realize this is their retribution to the goddesses themselves." She glanced back down, and suddenly an idea came to her. "Do you recall what I said earlier?"_**

**"_Um… acquiesce?" Farore offered._**

**_Nayru resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "No, Farore. I mean before that. I called them children. Remember?" She received no response. "Well, I suppose it doesn't matter. I believe we should show them the error of their ways by turning them into children."_**

**"_Ah. Make them innocent children, but force them into a world still recovering from war. I like it. Very evil." Din raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure you haven't tried revenge before, Nayru?"_**

**"_Yes, sister. Quite sure," she answered tersely."Now all we require is to rid the Hero and Princess of the Ocarina of Time."_**

**_Farore watched Link and Zelda's argument. "Ooh! I have an idea! This fight isn't exciting enough. They're only exchanging words, and that's no fun!" Farore raised a hand. "Someone just needs a little more 'Courage' to initiate this fight. A _real_ fight."_**

**_She snapped her fingers._**

" –and I'm too intelligent to fall for any tricks, Link. Remember that." Zelda glared at him, moving the ocarina behind her back.

"You think you're so smart but you're not!" Link felt his impatience growing. They were wasting time. Time, he knew, was very precious, even if they war was now over and really he didn't need to worry about it. If Zelda would just give him the ocarina….

Neither of them noticed Link's Triforce mark glowing.

He took a threatening step forward.

"I'm giving you one last chance, Princess. Surrender the ocarina, or else." As if just remembering it was there, he unsheathed his sword and watched Zelda's eyes grow wide with fear. He hated doing this to her, but something had to happen. Someone had to do something.

"Or… else?" Zelda repeated in a squeaky voice.

"Or else," he confirmed.

She watched him for a moment. "Or else what?"

"Or else… um…" He held up the sword.

She scoffed. "Yeah. Because you'd actually try to harm the Princess of Hyrule. I'd have my guards on you in an instant. You'd be locked in the dungeons for–"

Growling and unable to wait any longer, he decided to abandon his sword, dropping it to the ground, and lunged forward, aiming for the ocarina.

Shrieking, Zelda tried to rapidly back away, but she tripped over her own dress, falling backwards. The Ocarina of Time flew from her hands. Both watched as the instrument slowly descended, following a straight path downward. In a last valiant attempt, Link tried to grab it, but he was too late. It finally tumbled to the same level as their feet.

Although it only looked like another piece of blue sky, the ocarina hit the ground like it was solid – and shattered.

**_Din laughed. Farore and Nayru had already disappeared somewhere, but she remained to watch the struggling Princess and Hero. She couldn't believe how flawlessly her quickly-planned revenge was turning out. She saw an opportunity and had taken it, but she hadn't expected everything to be so smooth and easy._**

A few seconds passed, but to Link and Zelda it felt like an eternity. They could only stare at the remains of what had once been an instrument. Zelda whispered disbelievingly, "We… broke it. We just broke the legendary Ocarina of Time."

**_Why Ganondorf? Why did her chosen champion, her dear Triforce bearer, have to die? It was time Link and Zelda paid back for what they stole from her._**

The ground that had supported Link and Zelda for so long dissipated, leaving nothing but empty air. Zelda reached out her hands, but the grasped nothing. She could only helplessly feel the world lurch around her, the pure blue sky fading into angry red.

**_Time for vengeance._**

Zelda and Link fell, screaming all the way.

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><p><em>AN: It might be another month before I can update. I'm actually leaving on vacation to Canada tomorrow, and will stay there for the month of July. It depends, though, on how slow/fast my Grandma's computer is, since I already have Chapter 2 completed._

_Also, criticism, no matter how harsh, is always welcome. Though not-so-harsh criticism is always appreciated a bit more..._

_Review!_


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N: This is probably the fastest update I've EVER made on a fanfiction story. Ever. ...Granted, I've only wrote one other multi-chaptered fanfic before, and it wasn't even on this website. But still! I'm quite proud of myself._

_Please note, however, that this chapter is NOT very good. I don't like it. It's a pointless, not-very-funny filler. I'm sorry! I'll try to make next chapter better. Emphasis on "try."_

_Thanks SO much for my reviews! I got... four! Wow! That's four more than I expected!_

_Now, I guess doesn't like using three dashes as a divider, so I had to go back in and put in X's to show that time has passed. I hope I got all the spots... there were only two, I think, but maybe I counted wrong._

_EDIT: Hey! I just realized fan fiction. net took out my huge word! "Hippopoto_monstros_esquipedalian." Apparently it doesn't like that word unless I put in those spaces. ...Well, I guess I'll just have to change that part a bit..._

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><p><strong>Shards of Time<strong>

by TwilightWakerofTime

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><p><strong>Chapter 2<strong>

Link awoke to silence.

He sat up quickly, panic momentarily seizing him. However, he realized that he recognized the area – the stone grey walls, towering ceiling, and, most importantly, the Spiritual Stones resting on the altar told him it was the Temple of Time.

Now fully alert, he got to his feet. He frowned. Something felt different…

Link glanced around, spotting a white-clad figure lying unconscious on the ground nearby. He hurried over, but halted and felt his breath catch in his throat as he realized who it was.

It was Zelda, but… younger. She looked exactly as she had the first day he met her in the castle courtyard, staring out the window.

And why would that be?

Uneasily, he looked down to examine himself. Sure enough, he was a good deal shorter, his Golden Gauntlets gone and the Goron bracelet secured on his wrist. He looked at Zelda's limp form one last time. Maybe the song had worked? Maybe they were back?

He knelt on the ground beside her. "Princess…" he whispered, noting with slight irritation that his voice was a higher pitch than before. Zelda mumbled something incomprehensible. "Princess Zelda!"

"What…?" Her eyes slowly opened, staring at him blankly.

"Princess," he said, "do you know what happened?"

She blinked a few times, staring at him, until recognition finally dawned in her eyes. She scowled. "Of course not, Link. What did you expect? That I would have magically found answers in my sleep?"

"You've had prophetic dreams before," Link reminded her.

"Right. But you're looking for a direct explanation. My dreams are vague enough telling the future. I don't need explanations from them. It'll probably just make everything more confusing." She stood, and looked at his face – then froze. "Wait. Why… are you… am I…?" She dropped her gaze to her own attire, finding herself in her favorite dress from when she was little. She hadn't seen it since she fled with Impa; her bodyguard had made her change into something more suitable for traveling and abandon the dress. But there was no way she could fit in it anymore…

But she saw Link's clearly ten-year-old face gazing back at her. And she definitely felt smaller…

"What… what's going on?" She spun around, briefly noting that they were in the Temple of Time. "Why are we like this? We're kids again!"

"I don't know," Link answered truthfully. "My only guess is that your ocarina playing worked, and we were sent back seven years."

"But the last memory I have is of falling," Zelda noted thoughtfully. "And before that…" She took in a deep breath. "You broke the Ocarina of Time."

"Yeah…" Link agreed. Then he blinked. "Wait. Did you just say _I_ broke it?"

"Of course," Zelda replied. "It was your fault. If you hadn't attacked me as you did–"

"My fault. You're blaming me." His voice was filled with disbelief. "Seriously?"

She nodded, smiling brightly.

"But… you were the one holding it… you dropped it!"

Zelda sighed. "Look, I can tell you're confused…"

"You're the one that's confused!"

"…but we shouldn't start an argument over this. That's kind of what got us into this disconcerting situation in the first place. Stop it or I'll have my guards–"

"Throw me in the dungeon…?"

"Yes. Exactly."

Taking a deep breath, Link closed his eyes in resignation. "Okay. Fine. So then what do you propose we do, O Princess of Destiny and Bearer of Wisdom?"

"Let's go outside," she suggested. "Hopefully we'll find some answers there."

Link took a step forward… but then stopped. "Wait. Where's Navi?"

Zelda gave him a look of confusion. "Who?"

"My fairy," he said impatiently. "You know, the one that's been stalking me and screaming, 'Hey! Listen!' since I left the forest."

"Oh! Her. Um, I don't know. Better not worry about it."

Link tried to follow her advice, but just the vision of Navi being left alone in the world… with no one to properly control her… let's say, "outgoing personality"…

He grit his teeth and pushing the rather traumatizing thoughts from his mind. He quickly followed Zelda out the entryway to the Temple of Time.

xXx

Immediately, Zelda knew they weren't back in peacetime.

A stale atmosphere met her as she stepped out of the Temple of Time. She nearly whimpered when she looked up at the sky and found the same black-speckled red clouds. Her only consolation was that they seemed to be a little less thick now; maybe it was because Ganondorf was finally defeated?

Link stepped out behind her. His expression remained blank as he took in the ruined Castle Town of the future that should have never happened.

"Link! It's still here," Zelda said disbelievingly, her voice trembling slightly.

"Yeah. Apparently we were wrong." Unlike her, his voice betrayed no fear or panic.

For some reason, this made her angry. "Aren't you worried? At all?"

Link sighed and looked her in the eyes. "I was plenty shocked by this the first time I came out of that temple, discovering seven years had passed. I think I'm used to surprise by now. I'm not easily caught off guard…"

Zelda looked away, wistfully staring at the clouds. She imagined them blue, just like in Hyrule Field, or how they used to be when her father ruled. But he was dead now. She'd come close to getting him back, but now the path lay literally in shatters, as blue ocarina fragments in the sky.

"So… what should we do, Princess?" Link asked.

She cleared her throat, forcing herself to focus on the present. "Well… we need some answers. And for that we need someone to ask. Let's go into town."

"Good luck with that. Last time I checked, there was no one in town, either. Only ReDeads. Oh, and look!" He reached behind and pulled out his Kokiri blade. "The Master Sword is conveniently missing, replaced by this. It's not back in the temple, either – I checked."

"And whose fault is that? You dropped it when you so viciously attacked me."

Link grit his teeth. "Thanks for being observant, Princess. But it still doesn't change the fact that we lost one of the most powerful weapons in Hyrulean history."

Zelda huffed, then turned away, marching toward what used to be the central part of Castle Town. Link reluctantly followed her.

It was, as Link said, deserted. However, this time not even ReDeads roamed the streets. All was eerily silent, with only the hollow wind making any noise.

"Where did all the undead creatures go? All the monsters?" Zelda wondered.

"Don't worry about it," Link responded. "Let's just go before they come back."

"But it's almost more unnerving that they're _not _here than when they _are_."

"I know what you mean. But… think about it. Maybe… maybe they all disappeared because we defeated Ganon!" His face lit up with hope, and Zelda marveled at how he really did look like an innocent child, not the powerful warrior she knew he really was.

Finally, she relented. "All right. Let's hurry."

They ran through the streets of southern Castle Town, past destroyed shops and residences. Although she'd been in town many times as Sheik, nostalgia still surged through her body. Even more painful memories arose as she remember the form she now had – she looked exactly like the young, naïve princess who used to escape from the palace and skip down these streets, laughing and carefree. She knew those days were gone now, with no hope of ever returning – she'd seen too many horrors to reclaim innocence. She didn't need reminders from the ruins of her kingdom.

She stole a glance at Link. He didn't appear bothered by the debris of town. Of course, he hadn't grown up here like she had. He lived in the forest.

It suddenly struck her just how little she actually knew about the Hero. Although it felt like they'd been through so much together, in reality, she'd only talked to Link a few times and only for a short while. She had no idea what he liked, what he didn't like, his childhood, his friends, and barely his personality…

Yet… she felt so close to him…

She shook her head. No, wait. That wasn't right. Their current situation was his fault, after all. She only felt contempt and frustration toward him.

…And perhaps a little guilt.

She resisted sighing. Her thoughts were way too confusing at the moment. In a desperate search for a distraction or at least some sanity, she dropped her gaze to the ground, attentively tracking the movements of her feet.

Link, much to her irritation, forced her to think again and focus back on the task. "So. I think we should go to Kakariko."

"What?" she replied, annoyed that she'd been dragged into a conversation.

"We should go to Kakariko Village." If he took note of her despondency, he didn't comment. "There will be people there. You wanted to talk to someone."

"Oh. Yeah…" Zelda's voice trailed off as she saw the gate approaching in the distance. She remembered how, at one time, there would be a drawbridge stretching across Castle Town's moat, closing and keeping everyone safe at night. But it was broken now, laying in pieces in the murky moat water. She lifted the hem of her dress so it would not get wet and took a giant step to avoid the water as much as possible.

Then Link came bounding through the water, creating a large splash. Zelda cried out indignantly as a small wave of water reached her and left drops on the bottom of her dress. She shot Link a glare.

"It's just water, Princess. It will dry."

"But how could you be so inconsiderate!" she fumed. "I could have been soaked! What would have done then?"

"I would… dry you off…?" He looked at her reproachfully. "Look. It's a puddle. It's not even a foot deep."

"You're… so…!"

"What? What am I, Princess?"

Finally giving up, she turned away, seething silently as she walked out into the field. She ignored Link following.

xXx

At last they reached Kakariko Village.

They stopped outside the entrance gate, examining it. The town looked just as Link had last seen it – large, active, and filled with refugees from all over Hyrule. He wasn't sure whether to feel contentment or dread at this assessment. It proved that something had gone wrong, that they were children in the wrong time.

"Well, we're here, Link," Zelda said dolorously. She'd been acting like this ever since he splashed her. "What was it you wanted to do?"

"I don't know," he replied honestly. "I just felt… it would be the right place to start." He glanced at Zelda, noticing her blatantly royal attire. "I think you're going to have to remove the headdress, though. And the jewelry. Do you want people to recognize you?"

"It shouldn't matter," she argued. "Ganondorf's gone. There's no danger of them turning me in to him."

"Princess Zelda has been gone for seven years," Link reminded her. "Wouldn't it be a little shocking if she suddenly showed up, looking exactly like she did back then?"

Pausing for a moment to consider his words, she heaved out a sigh. "All right, fine." She removed the headdress, shaking out her shoulder-length blonde hair.

Link stepped back to examine her, frowning thoughtfully. "You still look to royal. Don't hold yourself so highly, maybe lower your head toward the ground a bit… but those clothes…"

"My clothes are fine!" Zelda protested.

"They're too clean."

"No. They're not."

He rolled his eyes. "Okay, whatever you want." He smirked. "Although it'd make more sense if you listened to me. You haven't been thinking things through today. I've been winning all the arguments. It makes me wonder why you have the Triforce of Wisdom."

"I'll show you how wise I am. I will not entertain your petty insults by responding spitefully."

"All right. You do that."

"I will."

The stood in silence.

"Um… so are we going in?" Zelda suggested.

"Yeah. I guess so. Come on." Link walked forward into the town.

The sun was just beginning to set as they wandered around town. The orange glow of twilight illuminated the shops and unpaved streets. Kakariko was not as expansive as Castle Town had once been, but it still had grown to become rather large over the years.

"Do we have any plans on where we'll be sleeping?" Zelda inquired.

"I hadn't thought of that," Link admitted. His eyes scanned the area and rested upon the only inn in town. Since Ganondorf took over, it had become rather decrepit and the owners had fallen into penury. They barely got by – only by a miracle had they maintained ownership of the building – because people rarely traveled anymore with all the monsters around.

"Do you think that the inn would take two random children?" he mused.

"If we pay enough."

Link looked at her expectantly. "Well? Do you have any rupees?"

She bit her lip and hung her head. "Um… no."

"You'd think as a princess you'd always have some kind of gold on you… oh, well. At least I'm prepared." He pulled out his Giant's Wallet.

Zelda stared as he began to count the rupees in there. "I have a question."

He looked up at her. "Yeah?"

"How do you fit that in your pouch? I mean, that wallet is, like, huge. And that thing's, like, tiny…"

"Your wide vocabulary amazes me. No, really."

She glared at him. "I am certainly less inaniloquent than you are."

He blinked. "…What?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. You didn't want me to use more elaborate vocabulary?"

"Please don't."

She smirked triumphantly, knowing she'd finally won. "Good. I wasn't going to tell you, anyway. Now, answer my question. How does it all fit in there?"

He tilted his head to the side thoughtfully. "You know, I have no idea." He shrugged. "It's probably magic or something."

She frowned, hardly considering that a proper reply, but she let it all go for the moment. Instead, she turned and scrutinized the inn from afar. "I don't know if we should stay there, Link," Zelda muttered, suddenly recalling what she'd heard travelers in Castle Town say about Kakariko's inn. "I think I've heard about this place. The owners aren't very honest."

"I think Navi and I stayed there once," Link said, trying to think back. "I can't say it was very pleasant… but, you know, even having a bed was a luxury when we were traveling so much. It was a lot better than sleeping in the Shadow Temple. Goddesses, that was scary…" He shoved his wallet back into his pouch. "Three hundred and forty five rupees. That should be more than enough, right?"

"Yes. They would probably take us for a simple purple rupee, if you have one." She snorted. "Oh, foolish commoners. They take pleasure in such small, trivial amounts of money…"

"Remember who's without any cash here, Princess. It's not them."

Ignoring his comment, Zelda approached the old building. "It's called the Broken Kettle," she noted, reading the sign above the door. She hesitantly placed her hand on the handle, looking back at her companion. "Are… um… are we going in?"

He stared at her stoically. "Your call, Princess Zelda."

She paused for a bit longer. "Do you think… that there might be… spiders…?"

Link face-palmed. "Are you going to open the door or not!"

Taking in a deep breath, she turned the handle and stepped into the musty darkness.

* * *

><p><em>AN: ...Meh. Fail ending. Like everything else this chapter._

_I'm in a pessimistic mood today, huh?_

_Anyway, thank you MissLozSoue39 (haha, marking this as complete was an accident - this has a long way to go before completion), InkWoven (I hope you didn't mind that I kept Zelda's obnoxious princess personality a bit longer - my sister really liked it that way. I'm going to have the change in her personality be a bit more gradual), an anonymous reviewer without a name (Zelda doesn't have guards anymore; she's just crazy XD), and MadMags._

_Suggestions on how to improve this horrible chapter? Let me know by clicking that little "review" button down there, typing your feedback into the box, and clicking "submit review" (or whatever it says; I don't remember XD). I always appreciate your thoughts!_


	3. Chapter 3

_A/N: Here's chapter three! I'm sorry it took a bit longer than the previous chapter - updates from here on out are probably just going to get longer. I'll try to keep up this speed, but I've been pretty busy lately._

_I'm not so sure what to think about this chapter. In fact, it wasn't supposed to happen in the first place! But in the end, it turned out to be a pretty important part of the story - lots of foreshadowing. I LOVE foreshadowing. As a result, however, this chapter might not be as funny as the previous ones. Most of my jokes come from my sister (MilkGoddessMoo on ff . net)... I'm not naturally funny. DX_

_I'm sorry this is such a long author's note... but I also wanted to mention how I changed the rating. I'm going to add in some action later on, and I don't want to have the rating in mind. Hopefully this story won't go up to T, but you never know. (I just took out a joke that had minor suggestive themes, too. I hope I didn't disrupt the flow of the chapter. -.-)_

* * *

><p><strong>Shards of Time<strong>

by TwilightWakerofTime

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 3<strong>

"What do you mean, 'There's only one room left'?-!"

Princess Zelda glared at the young innkeeper who gazed back with a perplexed frown on his face. It wasn't everyday that a little girl came in with such a demanding personality. "Just as I said, young miss. There is only one room, one bed."

"But… how is that even possible! I thought no one ever came to this place! No one travels anymore!"

"I'm very sorry. You can still stay here, though. We'd be happy to let you have the room. One of you will just have to sleep on the floor."

Zelda spun around to face Link. "That will be you."

"I…" His sentence was cut short by her command. "Wh-what? No!" In all honesty, he'd just been about to offer Zelda the bed anyway. But now that she was ordering him to do so…

"I'm royalty!" she complained loudly, receiving a confused look from the innkeeper watching their argument. "I deserve the bed!"

"No," Link said firmly. "You always get what you want." He lowered his voice. "Goddesses. You weren't this whiny when we were fighting Ganon."

"B-But…" She pouted for a moment more, but then thought about Link's comment. Come to think of it… she was acting a bit childish. She hadn't had a proper bed for a pretty long time – why did she need one so badly now? As Sheik, she'd endured plenty of hardships that definitely rivaled sleeping on the floor for one night. Sure, she'd been a bit spoiled as a little girl, but she'd grown out of that high-and-mighty princess phase, right? "All right. You can have the bed. I'm sorry."

Link watched her skeptically for a moment more, unwilling to believe that the princess had changed her mind so quickly. Finally he turned to the innkeeper and announced, "Okay. We'll take the room."

xXx

After getting their room key, Link and Zelda proceeded to walk down the hallway and locate their room. Link couldn't help but wonder what was up with Zelda. All of a sudden she seemed a lot nicer and mature; she now reminded him of the princess he'd met back in the Temple of Time as an adult, whom Ganondorf had kidnapped for her piece of the Triforce of Wisdom. When he looked at Zelda now, her gaze dropped to the floor as she walked, he thought she looked almost guilty for the way she'd been acting before.

Lost in his thoughts, Link wasn't paying attention to where he went and he bumped into another person who happened to be walking past him. That person was unlucky enough to trip over him, sending them both sprawling on the ground.

He quickly sprung to his feet to help the person up. "I'm sor–"

"You fool! You should have been watching where you were going! I'm going to fr–" The person, a rather short figure in a hooded robe with a squawky voice that identified her as an old woman, glanced up angrily at Link. She immediately paused in what she was saying. Link could sense that she was surprised even though he couldn't see her face.

"Why… hello there," the figure said awkwardly. She ignored Link's hand, preferring to stand up and brush herself off, discreetly watching beneath her hood as Link shrugged and withdrew his hand.

"Hello," Zelda greeted, stepping forward and smiling at the old woman. "I'm very sorry for my friend's actions. We're both a little tired and distracted right now; we've been traveling for a while."

"Traveling at your age, in such dire times? Where did you come from?"

"Castle Town."

"Interesting," the woman muttered. "I didn't realize anyone lived there anymore."

Zelda realized her mistake and grimaced slightly. "Well, um, we don't live there. We were just… there."

The woman laughed at Zelda's nervousness. Link frowned slightly at the sound. For some reason, that sounded very familiar…

"It's all right. Everyone has their secrets."

"So I suppose you're staying here in the inn, too? What are you doing in Kakariko if you don't live here? Where do _you_ come from?" Link asked. He was sure that he'd met this woman somewhere before, and he was determined to find out where. She left him with an odd sense of foreboding that set him on edge.

To his dismay, the woman only chuckled again and said, "Remember, everyone has their secrets, and I'd much prefer to keep mine. But if you must know, my sister and I are in town to do some… business, you see." Her eyes twinkled. "There are some people who are trying to interfere with our jobs. It's quite frustrating, really." She shook her head.

"That's… interesting," Link replied, still suspicious. "What kind of job is that?"

The woman looked a bit annoyed for a moment before someone called out behind them. "Winter! Hurry up! We need to sell this… thing… quickly!"

"Coming, Summer!" To Link and Zelda she said, "That is my sister. I must be going now. It was quite a… pleasure speaking with you."

"Wait, wait, wait. Your name is _Winter_… and your sister is _Summer_?"

She grinned, something Link could only barely see beneath the hood. "Why, yes. Strange, I know. But our names aren't any stranger than Link, are they?" Link scowled, but the woman had already turned her back and began walking towards a hooded figure identical to her. "Goodbye. I have a feeling that we'll be crossing paths again very soon…"

"Come on, Princess," Link grumbled, heading back down the hallway with his fists clenched. "Let's hurry and find our room."

Link was so irritated that he didn't even realize that though the woman had called him by name, he'd never given it to her. But Zelda noticed this, and she gazed with eyes narrowed at the two old women's retreating forms down the hallway.

xXx

Zelda scanned the room with distaste. Sweet Nayru… it was disgusting! The room looked like it hadn't been cleaned in months! She gave the bed a forlorn, longing glance. Now that she'd seen the floor, she really wished she'd fought a little harder for a proper place to sleep.

"It's pretty late right now. Did you want to go to bed right away?" Link inquired.

"Might as well. I'm never going to get a good night's sleep now…"

"What was that? Do I hear more complaining?"

She sighed. "No… I'll face this like a princess." She spread out a blanket that the innkeeper had given them onto the floor, and sat down on it, grimacing at how hard it felt. The she blinked. "Um… so do I have to sleep in these clothes?"

"Nope. Just go put on your spare dress." Link smirked. "Oh, wait. You don't have one. So I guess that means… yep. You have to sleep in your day clothes."

"But this blanket is filthy. My dress will get all dirty!"

Link rolled his eyes, climbing into the bed. He pulled the blanket over his head, enjoying the feel of having a real bed for the first time in a while. Last time he'd woken up, he'd been on the cold floor of the Temple of Time (and seven years younger), and before that the last time he'd slept was…. He frowned. Wow. He hadn't slept since meeting Nabooru, and even then he'd been shivering on the ground in the Spirit Temple (which, unsurprisingly, wasn't any more comfortable than the floors of any of the other temples he'd entered). Merciful Farore, who knew the desert could be so cold at night?

He heard a groan on the floor next to him. He opened his eyes and peered over the edge of the bed to see Zelda patting the ground, trying to find a comfortable spot. Ignoring her, he was just about to roll over and face the other direction, when he heard a small gasp.

With a sigh, he sat up in bed. "What is it now, princess?"

"S-s-s-sp…"

"What?"

"Sp-sp-sp-spi-spider!" She backed away from her makeshift bed. Link was able to see her terrified expression even in the dim moonlight streaming in through the window.

"Seriously?-!" Beyond exasperated, he jumped out of bed, searching for the tiny creature in the darkness. There – just barely visible, the small body of a white spider scurried over Zelda's dark blankets. He reached down and picked it up.

"You… You're not going to kill it?" Zelda squeaked, watching as Link took it over to the window.

"No. Why should I? It's not bothering anyone." Zelda opened her mouth to protest, but Link cut her off. "Except you, of course. But _everything_ seems to bother you." He threw it out the window, and then, without turning back, he headed for the bed. Zelda just stared over his shoulder in shock.

"Um… Link?"

He gritted his teeth and flatly answered, "What."

"It's… the spider is…"

"For the love of Nayru, Zelda, can you just–!" He spun around, ready to continue his rant and hopefully talk some sense into the princess, but he halted and his eyes widened in horror as he spotted the spider outside the window. The problem was… it wasn't so little anymore.

The spider had grown to be enormous – almost as large as the inn itself. Staring at it, Link was reminded by Gohma, the spider queen he'd fought at the beginning of his journey. Except this thing was even bigger than Gohma, and its body looked armored and fortified, impenetrable. A single, yellowed eye glared at them through the window, not on its face, but on its back. Dark magic still crackled around its body – clearly someone had enchanted the spider to grow like this.

"A-Armogohma…!" Zelda whispered.

* * *

><p><em>AN: ..._

_...What? I'm not creative with bosses. So... yeah, I used one from Twilight Princess. Sorry for the short chapter..._

_I have a question for my reviewers this time. As you can see, this story is marked as Humor/Romance. The reason for this is because I planned on adding in Zelink later on. ...Now I'm not so sure, and I'm thinking I should change it to Humor/Adventure. What do you guys think?_

_Speaking of the reviewers... thank you SOOOO much! My goodness... this is much more popular than I expected._

_Sippurp123: Thanks for reviewing! I'm glad you think it's funny._

_Reviewer without a name: Haha, I can't tell you where Navi is yet. But she'll show up eventually..._

_ComfortableSofa: Here it is. :P Hope you liked it!_

_InkWoven: I'm hoping to start toning down her personality in the next few chapters; the more I think about it, the more unlikely I realize her personality actually is. It doesn't really fit in with canon. I kind of tried to fix it in this chapter... a little... but I need to keep it for the moment to have this story remain humorous._

_henslight: Haha, I'm glad you like it. :)_

_Amethyst 269: Thanks for reviewing. And yes, the DO fight a lot, lol._

_MilkGoddessMoo: It's your fault. XD_

_MissLozSoue39: I'm glad you came back and reviewed again! Yay! :P And I'm SO happy you like her personality... I'm not so sure about it myself, so it's good to get some reassurance once and a while._


	4. Chapter 4

_A/N: ...Hi._

_Yeah, okay, it's been, what, two months? I honestly had SOOOO many excuses prepared, but I don't think you guys care. All I'm going to say is that I've learned a valuable lesson from this lovely little experience - never, and I mean NEVER, add in unexpected plot twists if they're unexpected even to YOU. Write the next chapter or at least PLAN the next chapter before adding them._

_As you'll notice, this chapter is awful. I liked the beginning (The Goddesses return! Yay! They're so much fun to write about...) but the rest is terrible. I can't do action scenes, and I was rushing. I said on my profile this chapter would be out by the end of September - and look! I made it! I had to restrain myself from playing Soul Calibur II and Four Swords Anniversary, but I did it! ...Someday, I'll come back and edit this chapter to make it better. Promise. But if the writing quality is terrible... now you know why..._

_Major thank you to CandyCraving for the awesome ideas/inspiration, and my sister, MilkGoddessMoo, as usual._

* * *

><p><strong><span>Shards of Time<span>**

by TwilightWakerofTime

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 4<strong>

_**Nayru frowned, peering over the side of the heavens. "Farore? Come look at this, please."**_

_**The Goddess of Courage gasped, bounding over to her sister with the enthusiasm of a child. "You didn't use any big words! This must be important!"**_

_**Resisting the petty urge to roll her eyes, Nayru pointed down toward Kakariko Village. "Look. What horrid amalgamation of dark magic manufactured that?"**_

_**Farore's eyes widened at the sight of the giant spider attacking the village. "Oh… oh, no. Army got loose!"**_

_**Her sister tilted her head quizzically. "'Army?'"**_

_**She grinned. "Yeah! See? Because he has a ton of arms? He's a spider!"**_

_**Nayru shook her head. "No, I meant… you are acquainted with such a creature?"**_

"_**Of course! He's my pet. I guess he escaped from his cage again."**_

"_**Again…?"**_

"_**Yeah. After last time he terrorized some citizens, I put him in a nice, big room and put in lots of traps and statues and stuff so that he couldn't get out again. I thought it would work. But I guess not. So should I do something?" Farore asked, ignoring Nayru's perplexed expression. "I can just put him back in his cage again, if you want. It'd be pretty easy."**_

"_**Where is its cage?"**_

"_**In the Temple of Time."**_

_**Nayru was completely caught off guard by this answer – an exceedingly rare event. "The Temple of…. Farore! You've been keeping a monstrous spider in the most sacred temple known to mortals?"**_

"_**Well, yeah. Where else but an ancient temple would I keep a big spider?"**_

_**"You… I simply cannot believe that…" Nayru, Goddess of Wisdom, fluent in every language known to living creatures and more knowledgeable than every mortal combined, was at a loss for words.**_

_**Farore continued, seeming not to notice Nayru's distress. "See, I got Army from those two witches that worked for Ganondorf – remember them, Nayru? They're dead now. Link killed them." She grinned like an innocent little girl. "It was really fun to watch! You should have seen it! He reflected their magic back at them, and then – hey, you look weird. Are you okay?"**_

_**She stared back with a flustered expression.**_

_**Farore giggled. "Wow. I haven't seen you this surprised since Din burned down your library." She paused. "Well, actually, you were more, like, angry. You were yelling a lot. Now you're all quiet…."**_

"_**This isn't… I thought we were supposed to share everything. I never expected–"**_

"_**Whoa! What's that?" Farore pointed down at the giant spider, where two small figures were charging at the monster. The Goddess gasped. "Oh, look! It's Link and Zelda! Yay! Link's gonna kill Army!" After a short period of time where Farore beamed at the prospect of a good fight, her eyes suddenly widened and her face fell. "Noooo! Wait! Link's gonna kill Army!"**_

_**As Farore began to cry, Nayru cleared her throat, analyzing the unusual situation. "Sister, I believe it is the best course of action to let the two Triforce bearers fight Ar – I mean, the spider. Perhaps we can tie it in to their punishment. We were going to allow them to return to their original time eventually, correct? Did Din not mention 'challenges' that the bearers would need to complete?"**_

"_**Y-yeah," Farore stammered between sobs. "Din was going to deal with that." She pouted. "But… you can't use Army! He's my friend!"**_

"_**Sister?"**_

"_**Yes?"**_

"_**You're the Goddess who conjured all life forms. Can you not merely make a new friend?"**_

"_**NO!" the Goddess shouted, bursting into a fresh round of tears. "You don't understand me, Nayru! Army is important! And I can't… I can't just–"**_

_**Nayru sighed. "All right. I see that you will not listen to reason. We will ensure that Army is not killed."**_

_**Farore sniffed. "Thanks, Nayru…"**_

"_**You are welcome, sister. Now…" She gazed back down toward Kakariko Village. "I must ensure that this challenge is not too easy for the bearers…"**_

xXx

Link whipped around to look at Zelda. "What did you just call that thing?"

"Armogohma," Zelda muttered, more to herself than Link. "The Twinrova… how could they have gotten free?"

"The Twinrova? What do they have to do with this?" Link reached back for his sword, shield, and other equipment that he'd left beside the bed. He didn't know if just his sword would be enough – this spider not only rivaled Queen Gohma in size but it appeared to have some sort of tough armor surrounding its body. He was willing to bet that the huge eye on its back was its weak point, but how was he supposed to hit that?

He glanced up. He needed to get above the spider somehow, attack it from above…

The rooftops.

Without consulting Zelda, he hurdled over the window and sprinted toward the spider. He heard the princess shouting something behind him but he was too focused on getting to higher ground.

If only he could use the Hookshot… but as a kid, it was too big for him. He probably wouldn't even be able to lift it without the Goron Bracelet.

"Hey! Link!" He halted, surprised for a moment. Hearing that word, he almost thought it was Navi… but, no. Navi's voice was a lot more high-pitched and annoying than that.

"Link, stop! What are you doing?" He rolled his eyes. Oh, so it was _her_ again.

"I'm going to stop that spider from destroying the village. What does it look like, Princess?"

"It looks like you're about to get yourself killed," Zelda said breathlessly. "You can't just run out there without a plan–"

"Making plans didn't help me fight a temple boss. This is what I always do."

"And how many times have you nearly died from this recklessness?"

"Um…" He paused. "Okay, I see your point. But still…"

"Fine. If I can't change your mind, then I'm coming with you."

"Okay, then you – no, wait. _What?_ No! You can't come! You don't even have any weapons!"

She growled in frustration. "You have a limitless bag full of magical artifacts, right there! Surely you can spare me something for just one battle."

A large crash and a few screams prevented Link from responding immediately. He grimaced at the sight of the spider – Armogohma, Zelda had called it. Currently it was crawling sideways on one of the houses, causing even more panic than its initial appearance. He did think that having some kind of backup in battle might be handy… but the princess wasn't exactly the best fighter, was she?

Well, he honestly had no idea. He really didn't know Zelda too well.

"Alright…" he said slowly. "You can help. Just don't get in the way." Zelda's face brightened as he reached into his bag. At first he was going to give her the Fairy Bow, but then he remembered that they were kids now. Then he considered the Boomerang, but he doubted she would know how to use it. Goddesses knew it took him long enough to figure it out.

So instead he grabbed the Slingshot and pushed in into her hands grudgingly. "Be careful with it," he warned, already turning back to searching Kakariko for a way to the rooftops. "It was my first item besides my sword."

Finally, he spotted the perfect the gate leading to Death Mountain Trail, a huge look-out tower stood. Link knew from past experiences that at the top, one could see everything in the village. Hoping that it would give him a better view of what was going on, he sheathed his sword, grabbed the first rung of the ladder, and climbed swiftly. The spider was beneath him now; he could see its eye, swiveling around and closing at random intervals as it scrambled around to cause more chaos.

Then, when Link was about halfway up the tower, the yellow eye quite suddenly stopped its wandering and locked on to him. Both Link and Armogohma froze, staring at one another – Link with unexpected apprehension and the spider with apparent shock.

Then it started crawling toward him.

Link watched it approach for a few seconds before realizing he should probably do something. He reached for the sword on his back with one hand, but paused midway. There was no way he'd be able to properly wield his sword while on the ladder like this. Besides, what good would the sword do? He was already a good twenty feet off the ground; he wouldn't be able to reach Armogohma. He needed a ranged weapon.

But Zelda had taken the Slingshot.

He bit back an abrupt surge of irritation toward the princess. If only he hadn't agreed to giving her a weapon! Now Armogohma was heading toward him, and he had no way of attacking until it was too late…

_Oh, Farore help me…_

xXx

Meanwhile, Princess Zelda fiddled with the Slingshot. She'd never used such a contraption before, and when Link had handed it to her, she felt her heart sink. How was she supposed to use this in battle? It didn't even seem like a weapon… more like some kind of stupid toy.

"Of course Link had to give me the useless item…" she grumbled. "He probably thought I couldn't handle anything more violent…"

She pulled at the rubber part of the item and watched it stretch out, before letting go and allowing it to fly back. Okay, so if she was right, then she'd have to use one of those Deku Seeds and place it in there… somehow… and fire it at the spider. Simple, right?

She paused. Wait, where were the seeds?

"Holy Din! That jerk forgot to give me the seeds for the Slingshot!" Furious, Zelda threw the Slingshot with all her might. Coincidentally, just at that moment Armogohma happened to be passing by on its path toward the tower Link was hanging on to. It immediately halted and turned to the side a bit. Though the only eye Zelda knew about was actually on its back and out of view due to the spider's close proximity, apparently it could see her, because it made a low, growling sound and dove toward her.

Terrified, the princess rolled out of the way, the pinchers just barely missing her. With practiced grace she leapt back up to her feet, the Sheikah training that Impa had put her through slowly coming back to mind. She started backing away, considering her next move.

Armogohma, unfortunately, was not finished. It snapped to the side, missing Zelda's head by inches. This caused her to retreat with a bit more haste.

xXx

Link sighed with mild relief now that the spider was not after him. For a second he wondered if he could just let Zelda deal with the spider…

But when Zelda stumbled over the very Slingshot she'd thrown early and fell to the ground, he quickly disregarded that idea. Goddesses, did he have to do everything for her?

Abandoning all previous plans for getting above the spider, he let go of the ladder and dropped to the ground with a heavy thud. He sprinted toward Zelda and the spider. His breath caught in his throat as he saw the spider stand up on its hind legs, preparing for the kill. Zelda's eyes widened.

Link, not knowing what else to do, reached into his pouch and pulled out the first item he grabbed and swung it with all his might at the spider.

The heavy item hit the spider from the side. Screeching, the spider toppled over and landed on its back. While its legs flailed wildly in the air, Link rushed over to Zelda, only to find her already pulled herself to her feet. A murderous glare was plastered on her face.

"What the heck did you do that for?" she demanded.

He raised an eyebrow. "I just saved you, didn't I?"

"You nearly CRUSHED me! Underneath a SPIDER!" She indicated the spot the spider had landed – only a few feet from where she'd been lying helplessly on the ground. She took in a deep, shuddering breath. "I. Hate. Spiders!"

"Well, excuse me, Princess, but I have some spider-squashing to do. If you would so kindly stop complaining…"

Without awaiting a response, Link turned back to face the spider. Much to his relief, it was still on its back. He lifted up the weapon he'd grabbed out of his pouch earlier - and realized what it was with a jolt of surprise. The Megaton Hammer? Wow… he didn't know he could lift the thing as a child, but it felt no heavier than the Kokiri Sword on his back. Even as an adult he'd needed to use two hands. Maybe the Goron Bracelets were more powerful than he thought…

He didn't notice the glow from his Triforce.

Heaving the Megaton Hammer over his shoulder, he gazed at Armogohma. It looked pretty helpless on its back like that, he had to admit, but he had no choice but to finish it off. It had caused too much damage – it'd taken a pretty large chunk out of the Archery Shop, and totally demolished the buildings next to it.

"Link…" He glanced over his shoulder to see Zelda staring at the spider with an odd expression. Did she… _pity_ this monster? "It can't do much now that it's stuck. Maybe you should let it go…"

"What?" He was stunned to hear this coming from the princess, whom he'd thought hated spiders above all else. "We can't do that. Where in Hyrule would a giant spider disappear to?"

He was right, of course. But Zelda didn't want the spider to die, no matter how many troubles it had caused. If only there was just some way to make it go away, without it dying…

"That's where I come in!" A green-haired girl appearing about Link and Zelda's physical age materialized in front of them. They blinked. She giggled at their perplexed expressions.

"Um, who are you?" Link inquired, noticing her oddly colored hair.

"Don't worry about that. I'm just here to clean things up. You guys did great, by the way! Nayru was happy! Well, she was a bit mad that I helped you a bit. Did you like the extra strength I gave you?" She pointed to the Megaton Hammer in Link's hand. Instantly, Link felt the item grow heavier. With a small cry of surprise he dropped the hammer to the ground, unable to support it anymore.

"Anyway, now I have to save Army." She snapped her fingers and a leash appeared around the spider's body. It made an angry clicking noise in protest. "I'm taking him back to the Temple of Time now, okay?" She grinned at Link and winked. "Bye, Linky! You looked soooo cool! I totally picked the right Hero…" Nodding with apparent self-satisfaction, the girl waved at the pair.

The next second, she vanished.

Where Armogohma had just been, something glistened on the ground. Zelda walked over and picked the item up, examining it. It was apparently some kind of piece to something – it had jagged, sharp edges that she carefully avoided. It seemed to be painted blue, though it was difficult to tell in the fading light of sunset. Then she turned it over in her hands and gasped. Quite clearly displayed on the back was the symbol of the Sage of Shadow.

"Okay, what just happened? And what is this?" Zelda asked, holding up the shard.

"…Did she just call me Linky?" Link said.

* * *

><p><em>AN: Oh man. Oh man oh man oh man. I screwed up this chapter badly. Badly. Please forgive me, readers!_

_...If you're even still out there? Oh no. I didn't even consider that you might have forgotten about this story... Great! Now what? O_o_

_One thing I wanted to point out was that Link is getting a lot of attention right now. I've noticed. I seem to be favoring him and abusing poor Zelda, since she's been acting all spoiled-princess-y. Don't worry - Zelda will get her moment. I've got lots of plans to torture Link in the future, hehe._

_Well, thank you, super awesome reviewers. I hope you're still hanging around. I swear that I won't ever give up on this story - no matter how long this story might go without being updated. I'm dedicated._

_So, since I got so many reviews that I really couldn't respond to you all, I'll just answer general questions/comments here. Nice guesses on Winter and Summer's identities, but I can't tell you anything yet. :P I didn't make it too difficult to figure out, though... And as for ZeLink? Okay, I'm keeping it. I mean, no one told me to take it OUT, and a lot of people told me to keep it IN. So yep. XD_

_I really need to shorten my author's notes._


	5. Chapter 5

_A/N: Hello! I hope it hasn't been too long this time. I also hope this doesn't seem too rushed or have mistakes in it... I was kind of in a hurry when I wrote it. After all, I had to upload it before November 20th, because my hand will be attached to a special Skyward Sword golden Wii remote, and I have a feeling that would be hard to type with. XD_

_Shorter author's note FTW!_

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><p><strong><span>Shards of Time<span>**

by TwilightWakerofTime

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 5<strong>

Link hated attention.

He didn't know why, but it always bothered him if he was in the spotlight. Considering his lonely childhood, it was actually rather odd that he didn't desire company like most did – perhaps he'd just gotten used to being alone. No matter how many acts of heroism he performed, he never wanted any kind of fame.

So naturally, when all of Kakariko's inhabitants stared at him and Zelda, an increasing feeling a panic rose in him. More than anything, he hated when people stared.

They must have been quite a sight, he supposed. After all, they'd done more to fight off Armogohma than the whole rest of the town had, and they were only two children…

"Link!" Zelda whispered from next to him. He couldn't help but feel slightly irritated by her lack of anxiety – either she didn't notice the stares, or chose to ignore them. He wished he could be the same, but he didn't have either of those choices. "Look at this. What is it? Do you see this symbol here? It's the Shadow symbol! What do you think it's there for?"

His mouth felt dry, so he just shook his head, his gaze still darting nervously at the villagers, who were beginning to emerge from their hiding spots to survey the damage. Kakariko actually hadn't fared too badly – only a few buildings were damaged, and no one got injured. The Armogohma attack hadn't even lasted ten minutes. That gave everyone the perfect opportunity to silently admire their would-be rescuers, if the green-haired girl hadn't come and taken away the spider.

"Link! …Link? Are you listening to me? Hey, Hero! Look at this! I think this thing is important!"

Her loud volume caused even more heads to turn their way, and Link grimaced. "Princess… everyone is looking at us."

"Yes? So? We just saved the village, Link."

"But…"

"Is it really that hard to ignore them? They're just thankful that you defeated Armogohma."

Before Link could respond, a loud cry burst out over the low mumbling of the crowd. "My Cuccos! They escaped again!"

He blinked, standing up and scanning the village to find the source. At last, he recognized the speaker – the Cucco Lady. Apparently, during the chaos of Armogohma's attack, her Cuccos had gotten loose again.

Hoping that he'd finally found a distraction, he spotted a Cucco not too far from him and immediately pounced on it, grabbing its tiny, feathered body.

"What are you doing?" Zelda demanded, watching the Cucco squawk indignantly as Link began carrying it away. The young Hero chose not to answer as he brought the Cucco back to its owner and placed it down in the enclosure. The woman gave him a grateful look. In return he sent her a small smile and then hurried off to find the other escapees.

The next few minutes were spent scrambling around town and finding Cuccos in the most bizarre of places. Somehow in that short period of time, one Cucco had managed to get itself trapped in a crate. Part of him wondered exactly what happened… and the other part didn't want to know.

Soon enough he'd found all of the animals and replaced them in the pen. He let out a sigh and glanced around. Much to his relief, no one was staring at him anymore. Apparently his search for Cuccos and caused everyone to lose interest.

Zelda on the other hand…

Link stared at the small crowd of people surrounding the princess. For the first time, she appeared uncomfortable being the center of attention and actually seemed rather annoyed. After a few seconds, he realized that he should go and pull her out of there. He started forward, but someone grabbed his arm and stopped him.

He turned to see the Cucco Lady smiling pleasantly. "Thank you very much for helping me out," she said. "You were also the one who got rid of that spider, right?"

"Um… kind of…" he said slowly. He looked back at Zelda. "I really have to go check on my… uh… companion…"

"You know, you remind me of a boy I met many years ago," she said offhandedly, but gazing at him intently the whole time, studying his reaction. "In fact, it's more than just reminding me – you're _exactly_ like him."

"Wow. What a coincidence." Though he was surprised that she remembered his endeavors – she certainly hadn't shown any recognition when he'd talked to her as an adult – he couldn't help but feel slightly frustrated by her persistence.

"That girl is your friend, right?" She pointed at Zelda. Link hesitated for a second. Well, he wouldn't call her a friend, but…

"Yes. We're travelling together," he replied at length.

"Well, do you two have a place to stay? I'd be quite honored to give you lodgings for your stay in Kakariko. After all you've done for me and the town, I hardly feel like it's enough."

"No, it's okay. We already got a room at the inn."

The Cucco Lady's expression suddenly became solemn. "I don't think you'll be able to stay at the inn anymore."

He frowned. "Why not?"

"Look…"

He followed her gaze toward the inn and took in a sharp breath.

The Broken Kettle Inn was one of the few unlucky buildings to suffer Armogohma's wrath. In fact, now Link was stunned that he hadn't noticed it before. The relatively little building had been reduced to about a fourth of its original size. Most of it had been crushed. Link couldn't help but wonder how that had happened – hadn't Armogohma been on the other side of town? Maybe he just hadn't seen it while he was distracted.

"So you'll stay?" the woman repeated. This time her smile seemed more smug than friendly, and it definitely didn't help the sinking feeling in Link's stomach. She was acting very, very strange. Sure, he hadn't spent much time around her – they'd only had brief conversations after he saved her Cuccos. However, he was certain that this behavior was uncharacteristic for her.

It was forcing him to make a very difficult decision. Every danger instinct he had screamed at him to walk away, that something was seriously wrong and he should just leave before something bad happened.

convinced him to overcome his fear and step out of the Kokiri Forest… that part now demanded that he stay for a while. His curiosity wanted him to discover what was going on here, and his natural compassion caused him to feel obligated to help this lady if something was the matter with her.

There was no way he'd be able to make this decision. He was evenly split.

As much as he hated to admit it, he needed a second opinion.

"Hey, Princess…"

xXx

"You!"

Zelda looked up at the angry shout to see the innkeeper they'd been talking to earlier marching toward her. Somewhat glad that she had something to think about besides the mysterious object Armogohma had left behind and how stupid Link was for chasing Cuccos around town, she turned to greet him.

Unfortunately, if she'd been hoping for a pleasant conversation with the man, she'd been sorely mistaken.

"You!" he snarled again, pointing at Zelda, who took a step back in surprise. "This is all your fault!"

"Wh-what?" Confused, she held out her hands in a defensive gesture, which only proved to infuriate the man even more.

"This! All of this! You caused this somehow! Just look at my inn!"

Zelda glanced toward it and gasped. It had been completely destroyed. "Oh my. I'm so sorry. If there's anything I can do to help–"

"Glad you asked," he said abruptly, holding out his hand. "Pay up."

Blinking down at his hand, it took her a moment to realize what he wanted. "Um, I'm sorry, I don't have any money."

"Of course you do!" he roared, making her flinch. A few people were wandering over to them, curious about the argument. "They told me you were rich! They said you live in a castle!"

That statement instantly set off warning bells in her head. A castle? It could have just been a metaphor for a large house, but she had a feeling that it was something much more sinister.

"Who told you that?" she demanded. She tried putting on her commanding "princess look" but when she was a twelve-year-old and a foot shorter than this man, it didn't really work. Fortunately, her voice still carried the authority that she had hoped for. Maybe that would be enough?

"So you don't deny it then," he mumbled gleefully.

Zelda hurriedly corrected herself. "I don't live in a castle." _At least not anymore_, she added silently.

"You little liar," the innkeeper hissed. "I wondered how you, two children traveling on their own, managed to pay such a step price for a room. You're some rich fool's daughter, aren't you?"

"Please," Zelda reasoned. "I really don't have any money on me. I apologize for your losses, but–"

"Give me that money or I'll take it from you!" The man lunged for her.

It wasn't even entirely on purpose – her keen Sheikah instincts, acquired over seven years of training with Impa, naturally kicked in.

Before she even realized what she was doing, she grasped the man's outstretched wrist. In one swift, graceful movement she twisted his arm at a painful angle, then used her other arm to provide the extra strength she needed to throw him to the side. A split second later, a rather stunned innkeeper was laying on his back and staring at the sky, the wind knocked out of him, wondering what in the Goddesses' names had just happened.

There was a moment of silence as Zelda and all of the witnesses processed what had just occurred.

The crowd was just beginning to stir when her hasty actions at last sunk in and Zelda began panicking. Suspicious whispers flitted through the crowd. The innkeeper, still on the ground, groaned loudly, punctuating her increasing dread.

Luckily, she was saved from having to say anything by the sound of someone calling, "Princess!"

Her gaze switched to this newcomer, the fear of her true identity being discovered making her frightened. The feeling faded when the only person she saw there was Link, waving at her to head his way.

Fully aware that dozens of people were watching her retreat, she strode toward the Hero.

Link couldn't help but notice that she was a lot more pale than usual. "Hey, did something happen? …Why are all those people staring at us?"

"It's nothing," she snapped. Unfortunately for Link, she'd found an outlet for her anger. She wasn't going to put on a mask of serenity and courtesy for him. "Why did you call me 'princess'? I thought we were supposed to be in hiding."

He blinked at her for a few seconds, appearing confused but her harsh answer, but eventually he decided to ignore it and shrugged. "Well, I thought the name 'Zelda' would have been even more recognizable. If I call you Princess, people can just assume it's a nickname or something."

"Not when we have people spouting lies about me living in a castle and being rich!" she hissed.

He gave her an odd look. "What?"

"That innkeeper! He just – ugh. Never mind."

"…Are you sure?"

"Yes! Just forget it! I mean, it we leave town today, everyone will forget about it–"

"Leave? Oh goddesses, what did you do?"

"Nothing!"

Giving her a sidelong glance, he finally said, "If you say so." He made a mental note to ask her about it later.

"So?" Zelda asked impatiently, crossing her arms.

"So what?"

"Why did you call me over here?"

"Oh! Right." He grinned sheepishly. "Someone has offered us a place to stay. But if you want to leave town…"

"Who?" She was actually extremely surprised that someone was willing to let two strangers into their home. That was… unless Link knew them? Maybe he did. How would she know?

"The woman who owns the Cuccos," Link explained, pointing to a small house in the far right corner of Kakariko, with a small pen filled with Cuccos attached to the side of it. "She was grateful that I helped her catch them again, so now she wants us to stay."

"What's she like? Is she nice? She's not some minion of Ganondorf fighting to revive him, is she?"

"I don't think so…"

Zelda noticed the uncertainty in his voice. "What's wrong?"

"She was acting kind of weird. She seemed very determined to have us stay."

"What do you mean? Wait. Does she think of you as a Hero?"

"I guess. She thinks it's because of me that Armogohma disappeared."

Zelda rolled her eyes. "Goddesses. You're so naïve sometimes, Link."

"…What?"

"Don't you see? She's grateful! She wants to show you how much she appreciates your bravery." She shook her head, as though she was disappointed by something. "You'd think that as a Hero, you would know about this kind of thing."

"I don't think she was–"

"She'll be devastated if you don't stay for a while, you know. They always hate when their affections aren't returned."

"She's at least twenty years older than me," Link responded flatly.

She shrugged. "It's not always romantic love. More like… admiration."

"And _how_ would you know about this?"

"I was a princess. I often had men hoping for my hand in marriage, even at eleven years old…" She couldn't hide the bitterness in her tone. "Men from towns always gave me gifts, or innkeepers offered free rooms just so they could brag that they'd housed the heir to the throne."

Not quite sure what to say, Link remained silent, leaving the princess to her thoughts.

Finally, she snapped out of it and said, "We should probably accept the offer for now; we can leave first thing in the morning. Even with Ganondorf gone, it's not safe to travel at night."

Link still didn't trust the woman, and he was reluctant to make a decision so quickly. "Are you sure? What about earlier when you said that–"

"Yes, I know what I said. Believe me, the easiest way to make them stop bothering you is to appease them and accept the gifts. So that's her house over there? Come on, let's go inform her of our decision."

Zelda began heading toward the house, but Link hesitated. An uneasy feeling still remained in his gut. Something told him that the Cucco Lady had more a more sinister design behind her actions – and that they would be staying for a lot longer than one night.

He finally pushed his fears aside and started to follow Zelda. He was the Hero of Time, and she was just one woman with a Cucco allergy. Surely she couldn't harm him or Zelda. What could possibly happen?

* * *

><p><em>AN: I hope Zelda's ninja-Sheikah-awesomeness satisfied some of the readers that thought she was too girly. I just grinned while writing the whole scene (which ended up really short, but whatever). XD Also... I didn't call the Cucco Lady "Anju" at all, though I was tempted to do so (less characters! XD). Anju is her name in Majora's Mask, and it wasn't announced with Ocarina of Time, so... yeah. I have a plan where all this is going, so don't worry if you're confused right now. It will make sense eventually._

_Thank you reviewers! I love you, as always! Please review again. I had a clever, unique reason prepared as to why you should do so, but I forgot what it was, so just do it anyway. ;)_

_TWELVE DAYS FOR SKYWARD SWORD! (At least here... dang it, you Europeans are so lucky!)_


	6. Chapter 6

_A/N: I'm on a ROLL! THREE STORIES IN ONE WEEK! YEAH!_

_So, I'm back with another chapter! It's actually not that bad this time... aside from the fact that I rushed it... and, um, okay, maybe I didn't read over it either... but my sister did for me. So hah. I got some seriousness in here, because that seems to be the mood I'm in lately with writing stories. As a result, it's not that funny. So much for a humor genre, right? Anyway, I'm going to make this author's note short and just say, enjoy!_

* * *

><p><strong>Shards of Time<strong>

by TwilightWakerofTime

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 6<strong>

She was lucky – the children had fallen asleep very quickly. Considering all the excitement that had occurred this evening and the suspicion she'd foolishly arisen within the young pair, she'd feared they wouldn't be able to sleep right away. Her whole plan would have been ruined if she had to wait much longer.

Fortunately, it appeared that battling with her new masters' arachnid creature had tired them out. She'd thank the goddesses, if she didn't resent them so much.

The woman who looked like the Cucco Lady silently glided back down the stairs, away from the sleeping children's room, in order to initiate the final phase of her plan. She needed to work quickly. What if they awakened? It would all be over for her and her newfound power, offered by those two…

"How is the task going?" a voice hissed in her ear. She jumped back, nearly shrieking in surprise but just managing to clamp a hand over her own mouth to keep from waking the children. She growled. Curse this body and its helpless instincts!

"It's going well, mistress," she murmured, curtseying before the two hooded figures that had appeared at her side.

"Then why are the two chosen by destiny still upstairs, breathing well and fully alive?" snarled the second figure in her rasping manner.

"I-I… I'm just a bit behind schedule. I was just going to–"

"You'd better hurry, Sorceress of Shadows. Lord Ganondorf doesn't like to be kept waiting."

She couldn't tell which one of them had said it, since they both had identical voices. It was very eerie, especially in the enigmatic moonlit room. If she'd been in her own form, she probably would have thought nothing of it, but her current host desperately urged her to cry and shake with terror and flee. She hated bodies like this; hopefully she could finish this mission soon and dispose of this pathetic woman.

"I understand," she replied solemnly. She crossed over through her host's dark kitchen and opened a drawer. Sitting inside, looking completely innocent despite its violent purpose, was a poisoned knife.

"Go now. They must be removed before you can obtain the power we've promised."

"Kill the Hero first; he's the most likely to cause a problem. After all, the girl is completely helpless. There's no way you'll have to worry about her…"

xXx

Said princess was currently scanning her surroundings very confusedly.

The area reminded her of the Temple of Time. …Okay, actually, it was exactly like the Temple of Time. The only detail she noticed out of place was the lack of Spiritual Stones, and the wide open Door of Time. It was impossible for those two things to be in place at the same time.

"Princess Zelda…"

She jumped at the otherworldly voice echoing off the stone walls of the temple, her name repeating over and over again until the sound faded. She spun around to face the source of this voice. Much to her surprise, she was met with the sight of a woman.

She was beautiful, with flaming red hair and golden eyes. She gazed at her with a strange, flickering expression, the air seeming to dance around her like fire. Along with an air of arrogance, she looked angry, but it was a calm, restrained anger. It seemed like she tried to repress it, though she wanted to let her rage wild and spread her wrath. Zelda wondered why; she looked and felt powerful and intimidating – she had no doubt she could destroy her on the spot. Why did she have to withdraw from her fury?

Straightening her back and steeling herself for any threat this newcomer might pose, she stammered, "Wh… who are you?"

"Oh, shouldn't you know? You're the Bearer of Wisdom, after all."

"Being wise isn't synonymous with being omniscient," she muttered, frustrated that she had to explain this for what felt like the thousandth time to idiots who believed that her Triforce piece meant she knew everything.

"That's what my sister says all the time, too. You're a lot like her. No wonder you were chosen."

"What do you mean by 'chosen'? And who, exactly, is your sister?" she demanded.

The woman chuckled. "Oh, it doesn't matter. What _does _matter is why you're here. Due to the Goddess Code, I have to give you at least _some _kind of hint on this quest." She sighed. "Such a disappointment. It would have been so much more fun to let you figure it out on your own. I shouldn't have agreed to that stupid code in the last century…"

Zelda's mind processed this new piece of information, but it only succeeded in confusing her more. "Huh?"

She huffed in annoyance. "Wisdom indeed… and I thought you were the smart one. Basically, I'm helping you, although I don't want to. I mean, prophetic dreams are very common for these kinds of quests, although my sister prefers some kind of complicated trail of small clues to set up around Hyrule for the traveler to determine the significance of."

"So, wait… this is a dream?"

"And we _finally _see some of that Wisdom! Great job," she responded dryly.

"But… it doesn't feel like one. First of all, I usually don't have a body in the dreams – I'm just watching something symbolic unfold. Or if I do have a body, then it moves on its own and I have no choice in my actions. And I definitely haven't ever spoken with some random woman…"

"Well, that's the Goddess of Wisdom for you. She prefers to have the Bearers figure it out on their own. Farore isn't much better… but I like it to be a bit more straightforward. That's what I always did with Ganondorf."

Zelda drew in a deep breath, her mind instantly honing in on phrases like, "Goddess of Wisdom" and "Farore" and, most importantly, "Ganondorf"…

She knew who she was talking to, and suddenly she felt very, very afraid.

Something must have shown on her face, for the woman said with amusement tingeing her tone, "You've figured it out, haven't you?"

"Yes…" She swallowed. "You're… you're Din, the evil goddess!"

"Of course. I– wait…" The woman glared at her. "Did you just say… _evil_?"

The menacing change in the goddess's demeanor made Zelda nervous. "Well, yes… Power is what clouds in the minds of evil men like Ganondorf. You're often their patron goddess."

"That doesn't make _me _evil!" she raged. Zelda could have sworn that the temperature in the room had risen a few degrees. "The Triforce is an independent force from us! Sure, we get to choose the Bearers when the Triforce is split, but I didn't have that. Ganondorf broke into the Sacred Realm and stole it. It's not like I _told _it to select him!"

"But you still supported him," she said timidly. She tried her best not to sound accusing. She didn't want to further enrage the goddess.

But the damage was done. "It wasn't him – just my power! I only 'supported' him because my Triforce deemed him worthy enough!" There was not only anger in Din's voice, but also a small dash of distress that did not go unnoticed by the princess. "You are a fool to invoke the wrath of a goddess. I don't care if you're a Bearer – I should kill you on the spot! …But…" Slowly, Din broke into maniacal laughter that severely scared Zelda. She wasn't sure what was funny about this situation. "But I have a better plan. You will suffer for what you did. Oh yes…"

Beginning to feel slightly awkward now that it appeared that the goddess was speaking to herself, Zelda whispered, "Um… that's great… but… were you going to tell me something?"

Din's fiery gaze shifted to her at full intensity, and Zelda struggled not to faint under the power that it held. Resisting all her instincts, Zelda forced herself to maintain eye contact. After a few moments of holding each others' gazes, Din smiled. "You're surprisingly strong for a useless little princess. Not many could continue looking me in the eye like this."

Zelda blinked, and then looked away, slightly embarrassed. "I'm not… useless." Despite her words, they sounded halfhearted, like she didn't believe them herself. Din made her feel weak, and she hated herself for it.

"Well, no matter how impressed I am with you…" The anger seeped back into her voice again. "Your insolence cannot go unchecked. Forget the Goddess Code – I'm not going to help you anymore."

It took Zelda a second for those words to sink in, but once they did, her eyes widened in shock. She was allowing her only chance at getting some answers to slip away. "N… no! I'm sorry! I really didn't mean to offend you earlier."

"It's too late, you stupid princess," she snarled. Zelda felt indignant at the word "stupid", but she thought this might not be the best time to argue with Din. "Go ask your own little patron goddess if you really need help. Just remember that _she_ doesn't know everything that's going on. _She _doesn't know my plan…"

"Plan? Wait! What plan?" Din instead started turning around as though she was going to leave, she feared abandonment and loss of important information. Desperate, she decided to try a different approach. "But… I really, really wanted _your _help, your holiness, Din. After all, you're the best goddess. You're definitely the most… powerful." Din didn't turn around, and Zelda felt herself panicking. "I mean, you're just so… great! And powerful! And so much better than the other goddesses. And you're merciful, and skillful, and… did I mention powerful?"

Everything was quiet in the room, and Zelda was just about to admit defeat and instead divert her attention to wondering how to escape from this mysterious dream world, when she finally heard Din's voice.

"…Really?"

Her heart soared with hope. "Yes, of course!" she said hurriedly.

"…Fine," Din grumbled, facing her once more. "I'll help you."

Zelda's face lit up. "Thank you so much! I–"

"But don't tell _anyone _about this, alright?" Din warned. "If my sisters found out that I gave in to you, they'd never let me live it down. And considering we're immortal, it would be eternal torture and unending taunts."

She nodded obediently. "I understand."

"So…" Din pondered over what to say next. "You need to go on a quest if you want everything to return to normal with no harm done." She smirked. "I set up all the challenges on my own, so I can assure you, it will not be easy. If I'm lucky, but the end of this you'll vanish and I won't have to worry about you anymore."

Zelda's unease grew a bit with the statement, but considering how frightening she'd been a moment ago, she didn't want to upset Din again by saying the wrong thing.

"I'm supposed to let you know – there is a time limit. You have until the first winds of winter blow into Hyrule to return to your original time with no harm done. Otherwise… you'll slowly lose your memories and you and your Hero will disappear forever." She smiled. "Wouldn't that be wonderful?"

"No, it would be awful!" Zelda automatically said. Immediately she put a hand over her mouth, realizing that she'd said her thoughts aloud.

Luckily for her, Din didn't get angry. She merely laughed. "Ah, well that's all depending on your point of view, isn't it?" She put a finger to her chin thoughtfully. "Now, where was I? Oh, yes. I've prepared the monsters for you to fight – including some old foes, since I wasn't feeling creative. That's mainly Farore's department. And… hmm… you'll need to gather the seven shards from different corners of Hyrule." She shrugged. "Sounds a bit cliché, I know, but like I said, I'm not into creativity. Besides, since I've convinced my sisters that this is all some kind of punishment for your insults against them in your dispute with the Hero, they'll do that part for me. I'm just in charge of the enemies." Zelda didn't like the satisfied look on Din's face. "And trust me, I've found some good ones…"

This brought up many questions, but at the moment Zelda could only manage to utter one. "Wait… this is all because of that stupid argument Link and I had?"

"As far as you and my sisters are concerned, yes. No one needs to know the real reason. If they knew exactly what I had planned, they'd banish me to the Dark Realm in an instant."

This statement greatly unnerved Zelda – and she hadn't known it was even possible to be more scared than she already was. She finally mustered to courage to ask, "Is there anything else I should know about this quest?"

"Of course. In order to find all the shards, you have to–" Din's paused in the middle of her sentence, stopping abruptly, her head tilted to the side and her eyes glazed over.

Shocked, Zelda frantically asked, "Have to what? What's going on?"

Din swore loudly, making Zelda flinch as the goddess's already loud voice bounced off the walls and amplified in the small space. "They weren't supposed to kill you! Just make you suffer!"

"…What?" Confused, Zelda took a step toward the raging goddess, until Din turned her ferocious gaze upon her. She froze.

"This will have to wait. Those disobedient fools that I awakened are taking matters into their own hands instead of following orders. They will pay for this…"

"What are you talking about?"

"Your enemies are about to kill the Hero of Time prematurely. There's not enough time to enter his dreams and wake him… so I'll send you instead."

"I don't understand–"

"You don't need to!" Din snarled. "Just wake up and stop them!"

The whole scene – the temple walls, the goddess, and even her own body started to fade away into darkness, and Zelda felt her spirit falling through the air as everything disappeared from around her. The last thing she heard was, "Oh, and head to Death Mountain. You'll find some answers there…"

xXx

And the next thing Zelda knew, she was back in her borrowed bed in the Cucco Lady's house, the room dark and quiet. Her deep, rushed breathing was the only sound.

In such a dim room, she could just barely make out Link's sleeping form on the other bed next to her own. Behind him was a window from which moonlight streamed in, dotting the room with shadows.

But there was something – or rather, someone – in front of the faintly glowing window, easily outlined by the small source of light. With a pang of horror, she noticed a long, pointed item in their hand.

A knife…

Without any kind of rational thought or plan in mind, she yanked off her own sheets and with a skill that only a practiced Sheikan warrior could hope to match, she leapt over the bed and tackled the figure.

It hadn't gone quite as she hoped – ideally, she would have easily cleared over the bed and pushed the figure to the ground, wrestling the weapon out of their hands. Unfortunately, she wasn't quite used to fighting in her younger body, and she ended up hitting her legs on the side of Link's bed, pulling off some of the covers with her. However, one part of her goal was still accomplished: she hit the attacker's legs, making them trip and fall over, screaming out in utter shock. Not wanting her target to escape, she grasped their foot in one hand and pulled herself over to them, raising her other hand in preparation to attack with her fists if necessary. Instead she was met with a knife slashing inches away from where her head was, and her eyes widened in terror at what could have possibly happened.

Before the knife could disappear into the murky darkness again where she couldn't see it, she blindly reached out for the hand that held it and, in what just so happened to be pure dumb luck, she managed to grab the person's wrist. They grunted as she pushed their arm to the ground. The attacker tried to hit her with their other hand, but she caught it and pushed it down too. She was fortunate that this person was relatively weak; otherwise she would never have been able to restrain them in, even with all of her training.

A lantern suddenly flickered on in the other side of the room and Link's stunned face greeted her and he held the light source up. Zelda then gazed back down at the person in front of her – and gasped in astonishment, almost letting go of the attacker.

It was the kind Cucco Lady that had let them stay in her house. She was struggling viciously in her grasp, her face twisted into an expression of rage.

"What… what's going on? Why did you attack us?" Zelda demanded.

The woman glared at Zelda. "You… you weren't supposed to interfere! How is this even possible? How did I get bested by some incompetent girl?"

"Zelda? What happened?" Link asked as he approached, cautiously holding out his sword.

"She tried to kill you!" Zelda exclaimed. She shook the Cucco Lady's right hand, where the knife was still firmly in her grasp. "I saw her… and so I just… I guess I just saved you…"

"That's IT!" Their attention was once more brought to the woman as she stopped struggling and closed her eyes. Suddenly, her body jerked once violently, and then a huge black shadow rose out of it. "You're going to pay for this, Hero of Time and Princess of Destiny," the shadow said. Then, without another word of explanation, it flew through the window and away into the night.

"I'm… very confused right now," Link stated.

"I'll explain later. It's a very long story, and I don't even know all of it myself. For now, though…" The woman on the ground, now unconscious, groaned softly. Zelda took the knife from her limp hand before she could awaken. "I think we need to make sure she's alright. Somehow I doubt that this attack was all her fault."

xXx

Anju, better known as the Cucco Lady of Kakariko, slowly regained consciousness. Her head was pounding, and she felt as though she'd just had her heart ripped out and carelessly placed back in. She couldn't remember a thing… except when that spider had attacked. In all the confusion, she noticed her Cuccos getting loose, and just as she started calling out for help… everything just went black.

Or, actually, everything hadn't been black. More like… a strange, hazy blur. She could vaguely recall inviting those two kids into her house… and incredible terror, the desire to run… and then… the image of that one girl attacking her and forcing her to the ground…

Oh, yes. That was definitely the most recent memory she had. That girl… she must have done something to her! That's why she passed out!

Terrified, she blinked a few times, slowly and reluctantly opening her eyes. It took her a moment to realize who was in front of her, but when she recognized the figure… she screamed.

"NO! GET AWAY FROM ME! GET AWAY!"

"What? What's wrong?" the girl, whom she recognized from the attack, shouted over her screams.

"You… You tried to attack me!"

"I did, but only because you tried to kill Link. Calm down, please. I think you weren't yourself, but if you're going to be all hysterical like this…"

Anju tried to steady her breaths… until she noticed the knife in the girl's hand. "NO! STAY BACK! Please don't kill me! I don't want to die!"

"Wha…?" The girl realized that she was talking about the weapon in her hands. "Oh, no, I'm not going to hurt you. This was–"

"SOMEONE, PLEASE HELP ME!" Anju cried, sobbing loudly, praying that someone outside would hear her. "ANYONE!"

"No, shh, it's alright, we're friends, we're not–"

A loud thump sounded from downstairs. "Anju! Are you alright?" She breathed out a sigh of utter relief. Someone was coming to help her. She would be okay…

The girl and her friend exchanged worried glances. "I think that we should leave, Princess," the boy suggested. "The evidence is kind of against us…"

"No!" Anju, gathering up every ounce of courage she possessed, rolled out from under the girl's loosening grasp, managing to get up to her feet. "You have to face justice! You can't just run away and–"

"Watch us," the boy said flatly. He reached over and opened the window, and Anju was at a loss for what to do. She had to stop them from escaping… but what could she do? The boy held out a hand to the girl.

"But…" The girl looked back at Anju. "We needed to ask her some questions."

"Would you rather be put in the dungeons?" he growled. "Let's go!"

So, with one final, hesitant glance back at the Cucco Lady, she grabbed his hand and together they leapt out the window.

When the other Kakarikans arrived in her room, they found Anju sobbing over the unbelievable events that she had just witnessed and the open window, an eerie wind blowing into the room. Aside from that, the tangled bed sheets and knife on the floor were the only pieces of evidence remaining.

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><p><em>AN: As you can see, I finally named the Cucco Lady Anju. It was driving me crazy having to type out "Cucco Lady" every time. XD I'm sorry if the ending seemed rushed, because it was. Maybe tomorrow I'll go back and fix it all. ;)_

_I also wanted to mention that I started a new fanfic. It's terrible for me to do that, I know. But... I REALLY wanted to write it, haha. It's called Awakening, and it's Skyward Sword based. If you guys could go check it out and maybe review, I'd LOVE you forever. In a totally not-creepy way._

_And remember to review THIS story too! :D_


	7. Chapter 7

_A/N: This chapter took longer than it was supposed to. The first part was easy enough to write... At first. And then I really looked it over, and realized how many problems there were. There's still quite a few... but maybe it's not as bad as I think it is. Usually the authors criticize their own work too harshly. Usually. Okay, sometimes._

_Whatever. This chapter kind of returns to what it originally was – Link and Zelda arguing, and the Goddesses arguing. Lots of arguing. Hope you like it! ;)_

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><p><strong>Shards of Time<strong>

by TwilightWakerofTime

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><p><strong>Chapter 7<strong>

"You're a complete and utter idiot, did you know that?"

Link looked back at the princess in shock, the abrupt break in the silence that had shrouded them since leaving Kakariko a bit disconcerting. It took a second for him to process the words, but when he did he felt the anger rising up in him.

"_I'm _an idiot?" he demanded, clenching his fists in exasperation even as he continued walking. "Me? Look, Princess, I don't know what happened tonight, but at least _I_ didn't drive us out of town."

"So you would have preferred if I'd just stood there and _watched _her kill you?"

"She's the Cucco Lady, for Farore's sake!" he shouted. "She wasn't going to kill me! This was probably some stupid misunderstanding, and now we're as good as banished from Kakariko. Way to go, Princess."

"_You're _the one who accepted her offer."

"Because you told me to!"

"I didn't fully understand the situation. You did. If you weren't so stupid that you had to let me solve everything for you, then this wouldn't have happened."

"Then next time, I _won't _ask for your help. Apparently when I ask for help, innocent townspeople get attacked."

"Fine," she hissed, looking down to glare at the grass as she walked. "Next time I'll just watch you die. Nope, no more help from me."

"Thank Din," he mumbled. Zelda scowled, but said nothing.

Silence one more took over the air, their footsteps on the soft grass just barely audible over the sounds of night. They were traveling across the infamous Hyrule Field, rumored to be infiltrated with evil creatures and untold dangers after dark. Yet here they were, perfectly fine. Both of the Bearers had known that the field held monsters and threats – particularly for two seemingly defenseless children – but they'd braved it anyway. And, to their surprise, they hadn't had too many problems. The Stalchildren that had once populated the field at night had slowly migrated into other areas during Ganondorf's seven years' reign, and now the only creatures left were natural beasts and Poes. A few of the cursed Poes had approached them when they'd first left the village, but they'd quickly been disposed of with the Kokiri Sword.

After that, they'd stayed back, though Link could still sense them lurking in the shadows, waiting to strike. Well, he wouldn't give them such an opportunity. He led the way with his sword unsheathed and gripped tightly in his hand, keeping alert at all times.

The sun was finally starting to rise in the distance, the sky gradually brightening to the orange of dawn. Link realized that they'd pretty much been awake the whole night; he estimated that they'd only gotten one or two hours of sleep at the Cucco Lady's house. Suddenly he felt exhausted.

And, of course, that was when Zelda _had _to speak up.

"I have a question," she announced from behind him, her habitually imperious tone forcing Link to grit his teeth and mask his irritation. "Why, exactly, must you argue with everything I say?"

Link was tempted to deny that, just to annoy her, but unfortunately that would only confirm her accusation. So instead he stated, "It's not like you're Little Miss I-get-along-with-everyone, are you?"

"Yeah, but it seems like everything I say or do irks you in one way or another."

"That's because it does, Princess."

"Why is that?"

He groaned in frustration, halting abruptly to turn around and face her. "Okay, is this just because I disagreed with you earlier? You said I was stupid. Was I supposed to accept that? Gods, you were just _begging _for an argument there!"

"But besides that!" Zelda insisted. "What did I ever do to you?"

"You mean besides repeatedly insult me and drag me into this whole Kakariko mess?" he asked dryly.

"Yes."

He paused and examined her face, tilting his head thoughtfully. He was surprised by her expression. She looked completed honest, with no hint of hostility. Just curiosity.

Then he considered the question. There had been a time when he'd set out to gather stones and faced unspeakable evil simply because she'd ask him to. And at that point, he's only just met her. Her question was a good one. What _had_ she done to him, aside from start these silly arguments that she seemed to love so much?

"Um... not much," he admitted. But then he turned away, frustrated that he'd said that aloud. "Except... this is still your fault. Because you dropped the ocarina."

"Well, then, I'm sorry. Can you forgive me now?"

Shocked, he looked back at her. "What?"

"I'm sorry. That's what I said. I apologize for whatever I've done to you. I just... I really hate fighting all the time. It sounds like we're going to be traveling together for a while, and I can't be quarreling with you all the way. We'll need each other to get through this."

"So... what you're saying is..."

"Just promise that you'll be cooperative for a bit, okay? I'll try my best, too. Let's have a truce."

Speechless, Link stared at the princess, her gaze imploring him to accept. He was still furious with her, and that feeling likely wouldn't disappear any time soon. But it would be nice if they could get along, if only for a short while...

"Alright," he said at last. Zelda's face lit up. "I'll forgive you. For the ocarina thing. But–" Zelda frowned a bit. "–this doesn't mean I'm not still angry. Nor does it mean that we are friends, or that this 'truce' will last. Okay?"

"Ah... okay." She sounded slightly disappointed, but she brightened up again quickly. "Now that that's out of the way, I have something to show you."

She pulled out a painted blue object, small enough to be concealed in the palm of her hand. Upon closer examination, Link noted that it had jagged edges, as though it had been broken off of something.

Pondering over where he'd seen the object, he remembered that it had been left behind after their fight with Armogohma. He vaguely recalled the princess trying to show him, but he'd been too busy avoiding the attention of the shocked Kakarikans.

"What is that?" he inquired.

"It's a shard," Zelda explained, turning it over in her hands. Link's eyes widened at the glowing symbol of Shadow displayed there. "I'm not sure what it's a shard of, though I do have a theory..."

"And what, exactly, might that theory be?"

"Well..." She took in a deep breath. "I... um... I had a dream last night."

They we're both quiet for a moment, the sounds of sunrise in Hyrule field and the awakening of various animals the only accompaniment to their breathing. Finally, Link said, "So...?"

She let out a noise of frustration, huffing, "Goddesses, Link, use your brain, if you even have one. We're Triforce Bearers. Our dreams tend to be prophetic every once and a while. If I thought it was worth telling you, don't you think that maybe, _just _maybe, it's important?"

Link felt his fury rising, and a retort formed in his mind, but he stopped himself just in time. _No arguing_, he told himself. _I promised that I wouldn't._"Alright then, Princess, let's hear about your dream."

"Okay... let's see. I was in the Temple of Time, and Din was there."

"Din?" Link repeated. "The Goddess of Power?"

"Yes, I'm not aware of any other 'Din's. May I continue?"

Gritting his teeth, Link nodded.

"Anyway, Din revealed that we – meaning you and me – have to go... and collect 'shards'. I think she said there were seven of them, all over Hyrule." Zelda frowned thoughtfully, trying to remember what else the Goddess of Power had dictated. "And... I'm kind of worried about this. Din mentioned a 'plan'. Apparently she didn't want to reveal any of the stuff she told me, but she had to because of some kind of rule. And I think she's mad at us. Because of Ganondorf. I don't know how we can escape the Goddess of Power's wrath..."

Link allowed her to remain in pensive silence, before finally, his impatience getting the better of him, he asked, "What does this have to do with your theory?"

"Oh! Well, she said there were seven of them, right? And, if we assume this thing here is one of these infamous shards, and it has the Shadow symbol on it, _and _we found it in Kakariko, the hometown of the Sheikah, the Shadow people... I'm guessing we'll find one shard in each of the seven elements of Hyrule. This is kind of a wild guess, but it seems probable."

Link stared at her. "That's... that actually makes sense."

"Of course it does," Zelda said haughtily.

"And these seven elements... they're the elements of the Sages, right? Light, Forest, Fire, Water, Shadow, Spirit, and... and..."

"Time," she answered. "The seventh element is of Time."

"Why am I not surprised?" Link muttered. "There's the Hero of Time, Temple of Time, Ocarina of Time, Song of Time, Door of Time, Pedestal of Time..."

"You forgot Sword of Time. That's what the Master Sword is called in ancient texts."

"See? With all of that, it's only fair that there's a Sage of Time, too." He paused. "But... wait. Where would we find the element of Time? We're supposed to find a shard there, right?"

"Oh. Good question." She frowned. "Hmm... I guess Time would be in Castle Town, right? That's where its temple is."

"Then what about Light? Where's that?"

"I don't know _everything_, Link! We'll just have to figure it out when we get there."

"Fine," he grumbled. "Then where to first? We might as well get started right away."

"Well, Din said we have to..." She froze abruptly, an expression of horror on her face.

"...Um, Princess? What's wrong?" Link asked after a few seconds, worry beginning to seep into his voice. "Are you okay...?"

"Oh, no..." Zelda breathed. She grimaced. "Uh, Link, you're not going to like this... but we have to return to Kakariko."

"Wh... What?" he said, confused at first. Then his confusion turned into dismay. "No! We justleft the village! And they hate us there now; they'll be looking for us. And we're not exactly the most inconspicuous pair. We can't go back, Princess! You have to be joking!"

"But Din said–"

"I don't _care _what Din said! We can't go back there!"

A rumble of thunder tore through the sky at that moment, making both companions jump. Storm clouds were rapidly gathering and churning up in the sky, blocking out the sun – but strangely only over the spot where they stood. The darkness carried a sense of foreboding and apprehension. They both knew exactly what this meant: _Do as I say. Or else._

"On second thought..." Link said slowly. "I... I think going to Kakariko is a great idea."

"Yeah, me too," Zelda agreed uneasily. The storm clouds began to dissipate, and she regained her composure. "It's not too bad, though. It wasn't Kakariko she wants us to go to... it was Death Mountain. We just have to go through the village."

"Well..."

Zelda looked at him suspiciously. "Well what?"

"Actually, there is another way..."

"There is?" she gasped. "Where?"

"...In the Lost Woods."

"Then let's go!"

"No, Princess. We can't."

"Why not?"

He took in a deep breath. "Because... I just... we really shouldn't. Um..." A thought occurred to him. "Because... Hylians get lost in the woods! And we'll both turn into Stalfos. Yep."

"But..." She looked at his green tunic. "Didn't you grow up in the forest?"

He groaned. "Alright, fine. I don't want to go there because I'd be recognized, okay? No one knew who I was as an adult. If I go back, they'll think I'm a Kokiri. And... I'm not."

"So you'd rather go into a town full of people who want to kill us than face your childhood friends."

"Yes."

She huffed in frustration. "See, this is why I said you're an idiot."

"Hey!" he protested. "I thought we were being nice to each other!"

"Yes, we are... but seriously... this doesn't make any sense."

"Too bad. I'm not going to the forest."

"Even if I start to cry?"

"_Especially _if you start to cry."

She frowned. It had always worked on the people at the castle. Looking back toward the village they'd just left, she decided that they hadn't gotten too far away. Actually, it _was _closer than the forest...

"Fine," she sighed in defeat. "Kakariko it is."

Link cheered up almost instantly. "Great. Follow me, Princess. It's almost daylight, but there might still be some monsters hanging around, hoping we let our guard down. Like those Big Poes. They're immune to the sunlight... but usually they only attack mounted travelers, so we're probably good."

Zelda nodded, and took a step forward to follow him... and then stopped, a thought occurring to her.

Link noticed her hesitation. "What's the matter? You're not having second thoughts about going to Kakariko, are you?" His expression turned pleading. "I really, _really _don't want to go there. Please don't."

"N-No, it's not that..." She shook her head. "I just... I never told you what I thought the shards were."

"Okay then." He folded his arms across his chest. "What do you think they are?"

"I think..." She paused for another moment. "I think that... they're the shards of the broken Ocarina of Time."

Link stared at her serious face momentarily, and then shrugged. "So?"

She felt her face heat up with anger. "'So?' What do you mean 'so'?"

"So it's part of the Ocarina of Time," he said offhandedly. "I don't see how that changes anything. I guess we'll just have to gather the pieces and then somehow put this thing back together again, right?"

"I guess," Zelda reluctantly agreed. "But–"

"But what?"

"But... I thought you'd be a bit more surprised by this revelation."

He waved his hand dismissively. "I thought it was pretty obvious. You know... the whole blue-painted clay object... obviously some kind of magic item..." He gave her a small grin. "Maybe you're not as smart as you think you are, Bearer of Wisdom."

Without looking back, Link began heading toward Kakariko, leaving Zelda to seethe silently behind him. She only had one thought in mind as she grudgingly followed him.

_That truce is _so _off..._

xXx

_**Din rubbed her hands together gleefully, a grin on her face as she looked down at the two Bearers. She was quite proud of that storm she'd brewed up, and even more pleased with the reaction it had elicited from them. Sure, those fools that she'd awoken had thrown a wrench into her plan by attacking the princess, but at least everything had worked out in the end. Yep, nothing could ruin this moment. Nothing... at... all...**_

_**"DIN!"**_

_**Din spun around, not having realized that her two sisters were standing there for the first time in a while. She'd been too busy reveling in her own genius to sense their approach. And, much to her dismay, they looked outraged.**_

_**"What, pray tell, is this no doubt absolutely execrable 'plan' of yours?" demanded Nayru.**_

_**Din could only stare at her sister. "Exe-what?"**_

_**"It means bad, or horrible," Farore explained bluntly. "She told me earlier. Now answer the question."**_

_**Quickly regaining her composure, Din feigned ignorance. "Plan? What are you talking about?"**_

_**"Do not try to fool the Goddess of Wisdom," Nayru hissed. "Your artifice is rather impressive, I must admit, but I can detect your duplicity with ease."**_

_**"Um... I think she said that there's something you're not telling us," Farore supplied. "We overheard Link and Zelda talking, and she said that you told her about some kind of secret plan. Now talk. Or else." **_

_**Knowing how serious Farore's threats could be, Din quickly spoke up. "You must be mistaken," Din responded innocently. "I said no such thing. They were wrong."**_

_**"My Bearer would not resort to deceit! How dare you even suggest such a thing!"**_

_**"I didn't mean that," Din corrected herself. "She probably just misunderstood." Nayru's eyes narrowed in suspicion, so she hastily added, "Um... she was probably just referring to... you know... this whole thing. The quest. I might have called it a plan at some point."**_

_**"The way she described it made it sound as though it was just you... not including us."**_

_**"Well, that's because it was just me talking to her, of course!" Din laughed, though it sounded a bit too nervous for her liking. "Next time you should visit them yourself if you want the credit."**_

_**"Listen, if you don't tell us right now," Farore growled, "I swear I'm going to–"**_

_**"It was nothing, okay? Nothing!" she shouted. "You'd think I was, like, plotting my evil revenge upon them. Haha... no... why would I ever do that?"**_

_**Nayru opened her mouth to speak, but Farore got there first, taking a step forward as she yelled, "You filthy liar! Are you planning on doing anything to Link? Because–"**_

_**"Noooo, I'm not. Not at all." Din's previously triumphant mood had been officially ruined by her sisters' accusations, and now she was scowling. Unfortunately, she really needed to regain their trust if her plan was to work out. But how...? She decided that she might have to modify her schedule a bit. Sure, it would be inconvenient, but in the end everything would work out the same.**_

_**"Look," she said, trying to sound apologetic, "if you're really that worried about it, then they won't go to Death Mountain. I'll put the Fire shard somewhere else."**_

_**"And how do you plan on doing that?" Farore challenged.**_

_**"What do you mean? On not having them go to Death Mountain? Hmm... the thunderstorm worked nicely earlier. I'll just use it again to scare them out of going there."**_

_**Farore scoffed. "That wouldn't scare Link. He has the Triforce of Courage. Duh."**_

_**"Hah. You must be imagining things, Farore. Everyone knows that Courage is nothing without Power. It's completely useless."**_

_**Faster than the speed of light (quite literally) Din found herself lying flat on her back, staring up at the cold steel of Farore's signature Sword of Courage and the enraged face of her sister. "How DARE you insult my Courage!" she snarled, pressing the blade into Din's flawless skin. Of course, thanks to the whole immortality thing, she didn't feel it at all, but it certainly evoked her anger. Din, summoning her strength, kicked upward, effortlessly sending the Goddess of Courage flying backwards, landing far away on her back.**_

_**Din laughed mirthlessly. "And that, my dear sister, is why Power is better."**_

_**Growling viciously, Farore was on her feet in an instant and charging toward her sister, sword raised and prepared to strike. She ducked under a punch, swinging around behind the other goddess with her sword, only to have it blocked by the Din's other hand. Din wrestled the sword from her grasp, but Farore only needed to snap her fingers to have another identical one appear in her hand.**_

_**The two connected, their matching swords locking in a deadly clash, both glowering at each other. "Take it back," Farore hissed in a menacing voice that would have struck terror into even the most confident of mortals. "Admit it. Courage defeated your Bearer, didn't it? You're jealous."**_

_**"I am not!" Din insisted furiously, knowing that it was a total lie. "And now I will prove it to you! Power is always better than Courage, in any situation. Your Hero just got lucky."**_

_**"We'll see about that." Farore pressed harder, but Din simply rolled her eyes and used her superior strength to easily shove Farore to the ground. Grinning in satisfaction, she quickly aimed the sword downward in what she was sure would be a fatal strike (if Farore could have died), only to find that her sister was no longer there. Shocked, she glanced behind her and caught a glimpse of a sword swinging down on her before she dived out of the way.**_

_**The battle continued on, and Nayru, always having been the most sophisticated and mellow of the trio, simply sighed and shook her head. It seemed as though both of her sisters had forgotten what the argument had been about in the first place, but she certainly hadn't.**_

_**She couldn't help but worry about this "plan" of Din's. For some reason, the Goddess of Wisdom highly doubted it was for the benefit of Hyrule, or that any real good would come out of it for anyone but Din. She just hoped it would not create absolute disaster... she didn't want to be cleaning up her sister's mess for the next few centuries.**_

_**...Oh, and she'd hate for the Triforce Bearers to die. That too.**_

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><p><em>AN: There you go. Another chapter, FINALLY complete. XD I didn't get very many reviews last chapter... I mean, I guess it WAS six of them, but that's because three are from this really awesome person known as MuffinKiller499. Thanks, by the way. It's awesome that you watched my videos! I'm so glad you liked them and the story! You need to get an account though, haha, so I can respond to you easier. ;)_

_Oh... And after writing this, I kind of noticed that the Prelude of LIGHT leads to the Temple of Time, but I said that the element of Time was in Castle Town. That discredited some of what I said earlier in the chapter... So just ignore that strange dysfunction, 'kay? Thanks. :P_

_Also, if you've played through Skyward Sword, please check out my new fic, Awakening! It's really good – at least, I like it more than this story. Sorry SoT._

_REVIEW!_


	8. Chapter 8

_A/N: What? Eight months? ...psssssh... It hasn't been that long. Crazy? No, you're crazy!_

_...Yeah. Um, hi._

_Hope you didn't give up on me. How many times have I told you I NEVER give up on a story I've begun? I'm not stopping until this is over, no matter how long it takes._

_A lot has happened since my last update. I last uploaded a chapter on February 3rd, and now it's October 29th... The site added this weird... image feature... thingy. My avatar works surprisingly well for my other Zelda story, but it doesn't match this one at all. I'm trying to convince my extremely artistic sister to draw me a cover for this story, but I doubt she ever will. Oh well._

_Also: OMG SHARDS OF TIME IS ONE YEAR OLD! How'd that happen? I got through seven chapters in one year. Woo._

_Enough of my talking (writing); I'm sure you guys didn't wait eight (almost nine) months just for me to discuss my bewilderment over how much has happened. Please enjoy the chapter._

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><p><strong><span>Shards of Time<span>**

by TwilightWakerofTime

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><p><strong>Chapter 8<strong>

"So... what's our plan again?"

"What do you mean?" Link asked, somewhat absentmindedly. He was staring at the stairs that led from Hyrule Field into Kakariko, visualizing their entrance in his head. As far as they knew, they were wanted criminals. Would their descriptions have spread so quickly? Probably not. But it was possible that at least one person would recognize them. He gripped the hilt of his sword. Maybe it was best if he just charged in, catching them off guard. But could the princess handle that? Maybe if he just went in quietly at first, until he was in their midst, then he could attack later...

"...So then the purple Cuccos ate the Lizalfos, and they all lived happily ever after. Isn't that nice, Link?"

His head snapped to her, having only caught the last few words. "Um, what?"

"You idiot!" Zelda moved to smack him, but he easily avoided it, despite his immense shock. "You weren't even listening to me! I just related this stupid nonsense story, and you didn't react at all! This just proves how inconsiderate you are!"

Link glared at her. "Well, at least I was doing something with my time, rather than stand around talking about... Cuccos. _I _am trying to figure out a battle plan."

"'A _battle _plan'?" Zelda repeated incredulously. "This isn't a battle! Those are innocent villagers in there! They've probably never touched a sword in their lives!"

"But there are sure to be a few fighters, and they might fight back–"

"Okay, so what exactly was this 'battle plan'? Run in there like a fool swinging your sword pointlessly?"

Link struggled not to grimace at the accuracy of her guess. "Of course not."

"Uh-huh. Sure." She blew a stray strand of hair out of her eyes. "Lucky for you, _I _actually have a plan. And no," she added, seeing Link open his mouth, "it doesn't include harming anyone."

He scowled. "I wasn't going to _harm _anyone, just fight the ones that were armed–"

"Trust me. No one goes around Kakariko with weapons. No one except you. Now shut up and listen. We're going to have to find disguises."

"Disguises?"

"Yes, disguises. Don't tell me you don't know what that means, though I wouldn't be surprised. It might be too complicated for your vocabulary."

"I know what it means! Seriously, what happened to our truce?"

"You voided it because you were being mean."

"When did I–" He stopped and shook his head. "Okay, you know what? Fine. No more truce. I don't even care. So where exactly do you plan on getting disguises, hmm? I doubt we'll find anything lying out around the field."

"Well..." She tapped her chin thoughtfully. "I can go as Sheik – I think the magic will still work, even though I never tried it at such a young age. But for you, I'm not sure." After a moment of thought, a grin slowly spread across her face. "Ooh, I have an idea."

He grimaced. "Oh goddesses. I have a feeling I'm not going to like this idea."

"How do you feel about... wearing a dress, Link?"

"I was right. I was completely right. Oh gods. Farore help me."

"It's not that bad!" Zelda said cheerfully.

"It _is_," he moaned. "I refuse to wear a dress. There is _nothing_ that you can say that will convince me otherwise."

Zelda crossed her arms and huffed. "Come on. I'm dressing up as a boy. It's only fair that you pretend to be a girl."

"Where would you even _get _a dress?"

"After I turn into Sheik, you can have mine."

"No! _Especially_ not if they're yours!"

She placed her hands on her hips indignantly. "And just what is wrong with my clothes?"

"They're so... so... princessy."

"Really. You can't be serious. Have you _seen _how dirty this dress is at the moment? If I walked into court like this, I'd be mistaken for a beggar. The _nicest_ thing they'd do is violently toss me out."

He had to admit that the princess looked like she seen better days – her appearance was disheveled and ragged and tired, with dirt caking certain parts of the pink dress and a small tear near her shoulder from her struggle with the Cucco Lady. Still, it didn't change his mind in the slightest. "I won't. What makes you think anyone would believe I'm a girl, anyway?"

Zelda chewed the inside of her cheek thoughtfully as she scrutinized him. "Hmm, you're right. You're too ugly to be a girl."

"I'm not sure whether I should be offended or thankful."

"It was an insult, you idiot. Be offended."

"Alright, then I'm thankful."

She frowned. "Come on."

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"I'll give you rupees."

"You know as well as I do that you have no rupees."

"Well... once I'm reinstated as princess I will. Look... I promise I'll find some way to make this up to you. Pleeeeeeease?"

He met her pleading expression and big blue eyes with a frown, sensing the sincerity in her last statement. She _really _thought this was the best course of action. And he had to admit that if things did get bad, then no one would expect the grubby little girl in a dress to pull out a sword...

He closed his eyes and sighed. "Fine."

Zelda let out a squeal of joy. "Yes! I get to make you look like a girl!"

As she giggled with joy, Link had a strange feeling that he'd come to regret this decision.

xXx

"I... am a genius," Zelda announced. She was currently disguised as Sheik, minus the cowl around her face and the red eyes. She stepped away from Link to admire her work.

Since Link had violently protested to borrowing her dress, she had snuck into town and stolen one, along with some makeup. Now he was garbed in a long, simple, faded blue dress, looking as though it had belonged to some young village girl.

"I look _awful_," he stated.

"No, you don't!" she declared brightly. "You haven't even seen yourself yet!"

"I don't want to," he moaned. "I'm just doing this so that I don't get recognized, okay? I don't want to see what you've done to me."

"Oh, relax," she mumbled, wandering over to the clump of rocks by Zora's River where she'd put his things. "You may be the ugliest girl I've ever seen, but at least you look like a girl."

"Thanks," he muttered sarcastically, following her. He picked up his sword and was about to sling it over his shoulder, but Zelda stopped him.

"Oh, no," she said flatly, grabbing it out of his hands, "You're an innocent little ten-year-old girl now. Holding on to your sword would ruin the image."

He glared at her and tried to snatch the sheathed sword back, but Zelda moved it away from him. "I can't go in there without anything to protect myself with! Girls use swords too."

"Not any as young as you, and especially not ones wearing simple village dresses like that," she growled. "It was weird enough when you were a guy. Children don't travel around Hyrule and carry deadly weapons." She hefted it over her own shoulder, setting it on her back. "I'll take it. I'm a Sheikah – there's so few of them that the only thing anyone knows is that they're warriors for the Royal Family, so I'll have an excuse. I'm going to go in first – it's probably best if we don't enter together. You wait a few minutes for me to make sure that no one is going to recognize us, and then you come in too. Head _straight _for Death Mountain, okay? No distractions!" she paused. "Um... I hadn't considered what might happen if there's a guard."

"There usually isn't. I should be fine..." His voice trailed off before he realized that he should have been using that to his advantage. "Wait! That's why I need my sword. If I show the guard–"

"No. You can't have your sword." She paused. "If it really makes you feel better, though, you can keep your pouch of items. However, don't, under _any _circumstances, use them. Okay?"

He sighed. He _hated _when she was right.

"...Okay."

xXx

Dressed as Sheik, Zelda made her way through Kakariko fairly easily. She received a few odd looks – after all, Sheikah were extremely rare these days and nearly extinct. Fortunately, this was the hometown of the shadow people; almost all of the natives had at least a small bit of Sheikah blood in them, so perhaps she was just a little boy trying to feel brave by using one of his family heirlooms to dress up. Not that she was certain she looked like a boy; without the wrapping covering her face, she still looked quite feminine.

_Straight to Death Mountain, _she reminded herself, keeping her gaze straight ahead as she marched through the village toward the gate. _No distractions._

And suddenly, something grabbed her hand.

Zelda took in a sharp intake of breath and then quickly twisted her hand out of the weak grasp, spinning around, her body tense and ready to fight. With her heart pounding in her ears from the fear of being caught, it took her a moment to recognize the figure in front of her.

He was a skinny man, looking up at her from under a mop of red hair with pleading eyes. "Please wait! You... are you a Sheikah? Please help me!"

Zelda vaguely remembered this man dressed in green as the one who always wanted to buy things, no matter how useless they were. He was particularly fond of items that could be kept in bottles. Zelda was mildly unnerved by distraught look in his eyes as he gazed up at her. Despite her previous vow to not get distracted, her heart told her to help him as best as she could. "What's wrong?"

"It won't leave me alone! Please... I can't stand it anymore! Just take it! No one will take it... but I'm going to lose my mind if I have to hear it anymore!"

"What?" Zelda's alarm grew as he thrust a bottle into her hands. He never, ever gave people things, especially not something bottled; those were his life! That was what he collected! What could possibly be in this bottle that was so horrible?

She peered inside, expecting some kind of horrible monster – and frowned. Instead of some horrid creature, she found a relatively normal-looking fairy. The only difference that she could see was that this one was blue, rather than the typical pink.

"I don't understand," she began. "What's so scary about this tiny little thing?"

"Ohhh, you'll find out soon enough," he mumbled, backing away from her. "It never shuts up for more than a few minutes."

She tilted her head to the side curiously. "What–"

"Hey! Listen! Let me out!"

"Nooo!" the man moaned, clasping his hands over his ears. "No more listening! I don't want to listen! Make it stop!"

"Wait a second," Zelda murmured, gazing at the fairy again. "Are you Navi?"

The fairy's wings fluttered to life. "Hey! I know you! You're the princess! Do you know where Link is?"

"So you are Navi!" Zelda exclaimed, a smile gracing her face. While she hardly knew the fairy, she was certain that Link would be grateful that she'd found his traveling companion. She looked back up at the man, who still had a grimace on his face and his hands carefully covering his ears. "Thank you very much for finding her. If you wait here, I can go and get some rupees–"

"Rupees?" the man repeated, finally uncovering his ears. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a huge pile, shoving them into Zelda's arms. Many of the gems fell onto the ground, as Zelda was too shocked to properly grab them. "Here, you can have them. Just take that... that... _t__hing _away from me. No one else would take her..."

"I didn't want your money, sir. You misunderstood..." Trying to gather up the rupees in order to hand them back to him, a thought occurred to her. "Wait, where did you get her from, anyway?"

"Two old women. They were wearing hoods... called each other 'sister', so they might have been related," the man said, still glancing nervously at the fairy on occasion, as though he was afraid it would explode at any moment. "Look, boy, or girl, or whoever you are – I suggest you take her far, far away from here, and just leave her there. You'll know exactly why I didn't want her very soon, I'm sure..."

The man's cryptic speech was beginning to annoy Zelda, so after gathering the last of the money, she held it out and said, "Um, I can tell that something happened, but I'm not sure–"

The man was gone.

She froze for a moment, confused as to how he could have disappeared so quickly, and then she took a quick look around herself. The man was nowhere to be found. The only way he could have escaped so quickly is if he'd ran for his life...

Sighing, Zelda held up the bottle again, glaring at the fairy. "Okay, I have no idea what you did to that poor man, but if you hurt him in any way–"

She made an indignant noise. "I didn't do anything! He just didn't like me. Where's Link?"

"Oh, right!" Suddenly remembering her own instructions to reach Death Mountain Trail as quickly as possible, she started walking again at a brisk pace. "Link's waiting for me. We've got to hurry. I'm sure he'll be very happy to see you!"

XXx

"'Happy'? Are you _crazy_?"

Much to the princess's surprise, Link was about as far from happy as he could be. Navi fluttered her wings angrily, flying up in front of his face and glaring at him. "Hey! What's that supposed to mean? Seriously, you can't do _anything_ without my help! You need me."

"You know, I was hoping to have one little adventure without some annoying little fairy hanging over my shoulder. Just one," he groaned. "Is it too much to ask for a little bit of time to myself?"

"This is unbelievable. I've been looking everywhere for you – don't look at me like that! I really was! I was so relieved when the princess said she knew where you were, and – Hey, Link! Listen to me! You can't just look away from me while I'm talking!"

"I can too, and I don't need you for anything."

"When you're not with me, you always get into all sorts of trouble."

"I do not. I do_ not _need you. I can handle myself just fine."

She snorted. "You know, this is coming from the guy who's dressed as a girl right now..." Link swiped at her, but the fairy nimbly dodged out of the way, giggling. "You're just upset because it's true."

"It is _not _true!"

"Well, I am pretty sure you're wearing a dress. And is that makeup?"

"Shut up, Navi!"

Zelda watched the pair argue, more than a little bemused. "I don't understand. I thought you two were friends. Navi seemed excited to hear you were okay, Link. Maybe you should try being more thankful that she was searching for you."

"Stay out of this, Princess," Link snapped, not even bothering to turn his glower away from the fuming fairy in front of him. "It doesn't involve you. You can't solve everything."

Zelda huffed. "I'm not trying to _solve _it, I just want to understand. Why do you guys seem to hate each other so much? Didn't you travel together?"

"It's because _she _won't shut up," Link stated.

"It's because _he_ never _listens _to me!" Navi complained.

As Link denied that statement and Navi yelled some kind of rebuke, the princess shook her head and sighed. If only she had known what a huge rift this would create; she should have never gotten distracted on her way through Kakariko Village. Now she would have to deal with these two bickering all the way up the mountain – assuming she could even get them to climb with her to begin with.

Not to mention that after fighting with Link for so long, it was odd to hear him wasting his energy on someone else. She almost felt left out.

"Remember, we have to get going," she reminded him. "We have no idea where this shard is. We need to start looking as soon as possible, especially while we still have daylight. What if we stay here all day? Then we'll have to be outside during the night!"

Link managed to turn his attention away from Navi for just long enough to give Zelda a doubtful glance. "Princess, have you ever been to Death Mountain?"

She glared. "Of course I have. I met you there as Sheik. What kind of question is that?"

"Did you just say that you _wanted _to be out there during the day?"

"Yes. Why? What's wrong with that? Don't the monsters come out at night? And it will be harder to see. It wasn't exactly easy for me to traverse the mountain in the dark when I saw you–"

Navi started laughing, as though she'd just gotten some kind of personal joke. The sound was so radically different from her arguing that Zelda actually jumped. "Oh, I see." Navi looked at Link again. "She hasn't been here in daylight hours."

A smile of understanding graced Link's face. "Oh. Princess, maybe it's best if we waited until night–"

"No! I've waited long enough! We're going now. What's so bad about daytime?"

"You really don't get it, do you?" Link stared at her and grinned at her confused expression. "You have no idea. Navi, should we tell her?"

Navi shook her head. "Nah, just let her find out on her own..."

"What are you guys _talking _about?" Zelda demanded crossly.

"Nothing, Princess. It's a surprise."

She clenched her fists, furious at the pair's frustratingly cognizant smirks. "I thought you were angry at each other! You're not supposed to be conspiring against me and hiding secrets!"

"Oh, right..." Link blinked, and then looked toward Navi. For a moment he looked as though he was going to continue their previous disagreement, but instead he relaxed with a sigh. "Okay, I guess it wasn't very fair of me to call you annoying – even if it's true. You _can _be helpful. You know, every once and a while."

Navi flew over and perched on his shoulder, crossing her arms. "As unflattering as that was, it was still an apology, and knowing you it's probably the best I'll get. So I _guess _I forgive you. Hey, listen, I'm sorry for always telling you to listen. ...Not that that means I'll stop."

Zelda watched the pair impatiently, rolling her eyes. "So everyone's friends again. Fantastic. Can we get going now?"

"Yeah, sure, as soon as I change back into my tunic..." Link looked at her. "You have my tunic, right?"

Zelda rolled her eyes. "No. It was sitting on that rock near the river, remember? You were supposed to bring it."

"Wh... What?" His eyes widened. "No... I wasn't. That was your job."

"I'm not in charge of your stuff, Link. It's your responsibility to carry that around." She couldn't help but grin as horror dawned on his face as he considered the consequences.

"Oh _no_." He looked to Navi desperately. "Can you fly and go get it?"

She shook her head, smirking. "Nu-uh. I like you in a dress. It's a good look for you."

"Navi! _Please, _this is serious–"

"You were yelling at me under a minute ago. I'm not helping you – and considering my size, I'm not sure I could carry it anyway."

"No, no, no! I'm begging you, Navi. You have to try!" She shook her tiny head, smirking. "Oh gods. I can't..." He paused, and then, with a sigh, he grabbed his pouch and sword that Zelda had leaned against the mountain wall. "Fine. Then I'll go back in, maybe knock a few people out, and get my tunic. Forget the disguises. I am _not _going to go _any _further with the goddess-cursed dress." He lowered his voice. "And that Cyrus kid definitely has something coming for touching me..."

Zelda laughed, but she stopped when he started striding toward Kakariko's gate. "Wait, you're serious?" She ran over and grabbed his arm, pulling him back. "No, wait, stop it. It's okay. I mean, you practically wear a dress anyway."

Navi giggled. "That's what I was going to say!"

Link glared at both of them. "Tunic. It's a tunic. Lots of guys wear one, especially in the forest. You of all people should know that, Navi."

She scoffed. "Of course I know. It doesn't mean I won't tease you about it."

"Link..." Zelda suddenly grew very serious. "We can't afford going back into Kakariko at this point. We're here... we're almost to the next shard... Won't the Gorons have some sort of clothing?"

"Not in my size," he said dismally. "They have adult clothes."

"Well..." She glanced at the tiny fairy, desperate for some kind of assistance in convincing her companion that he was absolutely crazy, but Navi was too busy shaking with silent laughter to help her.

Link paused for another moment, examining Zelda's pleading expression before sighing and then walking to the gate. "I'm sorry, Princess, but I really, _really _can't stand walking in this outfit anymore."

"No, Link, please! We can work something out. You don't need to–"

A loud boom interrupted her speech, and, quite abruptly, a flaming rock of death fell out of the sky right in front of the gate and exploded.

There was a beat of silence.

"...Um... I really didn't think that anything could surprise me anymore," Link said, "but I'm really quite stunned right now. In fact, I'm beyond stunned. I think I've passed into the realm of insanity. The realm beyond insanity. I think I'm now in that world where those purple Cucco are eating Lizalfos. I swear that some of those Cuccos will appear any second now. You know what I mean?"

"...No. I don't," Zelda said.

"Not really," Navi added.

"Yeah. Neither do I." Link turned around, his face hollow and defeated. "Okay. I've determined that fate hates me."

"Since when is that news?" Zelda murmured absently, her mind still not caught up to the fact that a giant boulder had just exploded in front of them. "I think the Goddesses are specifically trying to make our lives miserable."

Navi let out a slightly nervous sounding chuckle."Oh, that's just silly. I don't think the Goddesses really care about your lives so much."

There was a moment of silence as all three of them stared at the now-impassable path to Kakariko Village. After a long pause, Link finally spoke up.

"So, are we heading up the mountain?"

xXx

_**Moments earlier...**_

_**Farore tackled Din, taking them both to the ground again. "Now say it!"**_

_**"Say what?" Din growled.**_

_**"I'm better than you! Courage beats Power!" Farore shouted triumphantly.**_

_**"Never!"**_

_**"You two have been at this for hours now," Nayru commented from the sidelines, watching the battle impassively.**_

_**"Well if she wasn't being so stupid about it–"**_

_**"Shut up, Farore!"**_

_**The green-haired goddess was forced to duck as Din sent a fireball over her head. The **__**trio**__** watched as the huge rock careened off toward Hyrule, falling vaguely in the direction of Kakariko Village.**_

_**Something exploded.**_

_**Nayru and Farore turned to Din.**_

_**"Um... Oops?" she said.**_

_**There was a beat of silence, and then Farore shouted, "Now look what you've done! That could hurt some Hylians!"**_

_**"Oh, don't worry about it," Din **__**said**__**. "It'll be fine. Look – that's closer to Death Mountain than the village! No one will get hurt."**_

_**"But it was a possibility**__**! How could you be so irresponsible?"**_

_**She shrugged innocently. "You know, if you hadn't dodged it, it would have hit you and never would have fallen into Hyrule."**_

_**"Doesn't matter. Right, Nayru? She shouldn't have been so careless."**_

_**Nayru frowned**__**, too consumed by her own thoughts to respond to Farore. "How **__**peculiar. In order to reach such a position, the projectile's path must have been quite aberrant. I am also unable to determine how or why it detonated in such a violent way. In fact, it should not have even been capable of reaching Hyrule in the first place; there should be protections in place against direct interaction between our realm and theirs." Her eyes narrowed. "Upon further investigation, it appears to have emanated from the top of the volcano itself, not from our immediate vicinity."**_

_**Din rolled her eyes. "Do you really have to analyze everything? There's nothing to worry about."**_

_**Nayru finally gazed at her. "Do you mean to claim that you are not concerned by this conundrum? You are not curious about how such a phenomenon occurred?"**_

_**"No, I'm not, and you shouldn't be either," she said dismissively. "Really. What**__** could possibly happen because of one tiny little rock?**__**" **__**She smiled. "I'm sure it won't change a thing."**_

_**And then she lunged at Farore, and their battle began again.**_

xXx

"The volcano is erupting. The spell worked perfectly."

"Good. The Bearers are heading this way. The Sorceress may have failed, but they cannot escape our wrath for much longer.

"I'm looking forward to this," the first voice cackled. "It has been a while since we have performed such large scale magic, sister."

"I agree," said the second voice. "Our revenge will soon be complete, and then we can resurrect Ganondorf."

"And what about the goddess who summoned us?"

The second speaker smiled. "Do not fear. I have devoted my full attention to that issue." Their gaze turned to the distance. "Soon, even the Goddesses will be powerless to stop us."

* * *

><p><em>AN: I just love how I can write so much without making any progression at all._

_So, I brought in Navi. I love her to death, and her infamous reputation was just too perfect to pass up leaving her out of a humor story. If you're wondering why Link didn't have his own section in Kakariko... it's because he did originally, but I hated it so much that it was just delaying the updating of this chapter and I took it out. I could have spent another couple of months trying to mould it into something I could live with, but it didn't really have any significance to the plot, anyway._

_There were a few other things in this chapter that I didn't like, but I've had this ready for a while now and I keep bugging my sister about things to improve, changing tiny things that probably no one else would ever notice. I just need to post this before I decide it needs to be completely rewritten._

_Hey, does anyone have suggestions for some good Zelda stories? I prefer long ones – like, over 30,000 words. More if possible. I'm starting to feel like I've read every good story on the site; it's so depressing. I keep rereading things over and over to satisfy my craving for a good fic..._

_Oh! And who's been/is going to the Symphony of the Goddesses? I went in April, and it was the most incredible night of my life. I wish I could go again._

_'Kay, that's all. See you in a time that's hopefully sooner than eight months! Happy early Halloween! I'm going as SS Zelda this year. I'm very excited. ^^_


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